YESTERDAYS 
IN  THE 


SI    YENS 


LIBRA** 
uNivcftsmq* 

CAUFOftN* 

SAN  DIEGfe 


YESTERDAYS  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


How  We  Dressed  fur  $2.50.    See  page  16. 


YESTERDAYS  IN  THE 
PHILIPPINES 


AN   EX-RESIDENT  OF  MANILA 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW  YORK 

CHARLES    SCRIBNER'S    SONS 
1898 


COPYRIGHT,  1898,  BY 
CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 


THOW  01  RECTORY 

PRINTING  AND  BOOKBINDING  COMPANY 
NEW  YORK 


iN   MEMORY    OP 
MY  MOTHER 


CONTENTS 

INTRODUCTION Page  xiii 

I 

Leaving  "  God's  Country  " — Hong  Kong — Crossing  to  Luzon— Manila 
Bay — First  View  of  the  City— Earthquake  Precautions— Balco- 
nies and  Window-gratings — The  River  Pasig — Promenade  of  the 
Malecon— The  Old  City — The  Puente  de  Espana— Population — 
A  Philippine  Bed— The  English  Club— The  Luneta— A  Christmas 
Dinner  at  the  Club Page  i 

II 

Shopping  at  the  "  Botica  Inglesa  " — The  Chit  System — Celebrating 
New  Year's  Eve— Manila  Cooking  Arrangements — Floors  and 
Windows — Peculiarities  of  the  Tram-car  Service — Roosters  Ev- 
erywhere— Italian  Opera— Philippine  Music — The  Mercury  at  74° 
and  an  Epidemic  of  "  Grippe  "—Fight  Between  a  Bull  and  a  Tiger 
— A  Sorry  Fiasco— Carnival  Sunday, Page  22 


III 

A  Philippine  Valet— The  Three  Days  Chinese  New  Year — Marionettes 
and  Minstrels  at  Manila  —  Yankee  Skippers  —  Furnishing  a 
Bungalow — Rats,  Lizards,  and  Mosquitoes — A  New  Arrival — 
Pony-races  in  Santa  Mesa — Cigars  and  Cheroots  —  Servants 
— Cool  Mountain  Breezes — House-snakes— Cost  of  Living— Holy 
Week, Page  43 


V1U  CONTENTS 


IV 

An  Up-country  Excursion — Steaming  up  the  River  to  the  Lake — 
Legend  of  the  Chinaman  and  the  Crocodile — Santa  Cruz  and 
Pagsanjan — Dress  of  the  Women — Mountain  Gorges  and  River 
Rapids— Church  Processions — Cocoanut  Rafts — A  "  Carromata" 
Ride  to  Paquil — An  Earthquake  Lasting  Forty-five  Seconds — 
Small-pox  and  other  Diseases  in  the  Philippines — The  Manila 
Fire  Department— How  Thatch  Dealers  Boom  the  Market— Cost 
of  Living Page  bo 


Visit  of  the  Sagamore — Another  Mountain  Excursion — The  Caves  of 
Montalvan— A  Hundred-mile  View— A  Village  School— A  "  Fi- 
esta "  at  Obando — The  Manila  Fire-tree — A  Move  to  the  Seashore 
— A  Waterspout — Captain  Tayler's  Dilemma — A  Trip  Southward 
— The  Lake  of  Taal  and  its  Volcano — Seven  Hours  of  Poling — A 
Night's  Sleep  in  a  Hen-coop, Page  87 


VI 

First  Storm  of  the  Rainy  Season— Fourth  of  July— Chinese  "  Chow  " 
Dogs— Crullers  and  Pie  and  a  Chinese  Cook — A  Red-letter  Day 
— The  China- Japan  War — Manila  Newspapers— General  Blanco 
and  the  Archbishop — An  American  Fire-engine  and  its  Lively 
Trial — The  Coming  of  the  Typhoon — Violence  of  the  Wind — 
The  Floods  Next — Manila  Monotony, Page  112 


VII 

A  Series  of  Typhoons — A  Chinese  Feast-day — A  Bank-holiday  Excur- 
sion— Lost  in  the  Mist — Los  Banos — The  "  Enchanted  Lake  " — 
Six  Dollars  for  a  Human  Life— A  Religious  Procession— Celebra- 
tion of  the  Expulsion  of  the  Chinese — Bicycle  Races  and  Fire- 
works,   Page  JJ7 


CONTENTS  IX 


VIII 

A  Trip  to  the  South— Contents  of  the  "  Puchero  "— Romblon— Cebu, 
the  Southern  Hemp-centre — Places  Touched  At — A  Rich  Indian 
at  Camiguin — Tall  Trees — Primitive  Hemp-cleaners — A  New 
Volcano  —  Mindanao  Island  —  Moro  Trophies — Iligan — Iloilo — 
Back  Again  at  Manila, Page  149 


IX 

Club-house  Chaff— Christmas  Customs  and  Ceremonies — New  Year's 
Calls — A  Dance  at  the  English  Club—  The  Royal  Exposition  of 
the  Philippines — Fireworks  on  the  King's  Fete  Day — Electric 
Lights  and  the  Natives — The  Manila  Observatory — A  Hospitable 
Governor — The  Convent  at  Antipole, Page  173 


Exacting  Harbor  Regulations — The  Eleanor  takes  French  Leave — Loss 
of  the  Gravina — Something  about  the  Native  Ladies — Ways  of 
Native  Servants — A  Sculptor  who  was  a  Dentist — Across  the 
Bay  to  Orani— Children  in  Plenty— A  Public  Execution  by  the 
Garrote, Page  195 


XI 

Lottery  Chances  and  Mischances — An  American  Cigarette-making 
Machine  and  its  Fate— Closing  up  Business— How  the  Foreigner 
Feels  Toward  Life  in  Manila — Why  the  English  and  Germans 
Return— Restlessness  among  the  Natives— Their  Persecution — 
Departure  and  Farewell, Page  213 

CONCLUSION Page  z3o 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Facing 
jagt 

How  We  Dressed  for  $2.50 Frontispiece 

Our  Office  and  the  Punkah  under  which  the  Old  Salts  Sat  for 

Free  Sea  Breezes 8 

Plaza  de  Cervantes,  Foreign  Business  Quarter  .  .14 

Puente  de  Espana.  Manila's  Main  Highway  Across  the  Pasig  .  2o 
The  Busy  Pasig,  from  the  Puente  de  Espana  ....  26 

A  Philippine  Sleeping-machine 32 

The  English  Club  on  the  Banks  of  the  Pasig  ....  40 
The  Bull  and  Tiger  Fight— Opening  Exercises  .  .  .46 

Suburb  of  Santa  Mesa 54 

Our  Destination  was  a  Town  Called  Pagsanjan  at  the  Foot  of 

a  Range  of  Mountains 60 

The  Rapids  in  the  Gorges  of  Pagsanjan 66 

Cocoanut  Rafts  on  the  Pasig,  Drifting  down  to  Manila  .  .  72 
The  Little  Native  School  under  the  Big  Mango-tree  .  .  78 

Calzada  de  San  Miguel  .  . 84 

A  Native  Village  Up  Country 90 

A  "  Chow  "  Shop  on  a  Street  Corner 98 

Puentes  de  Ayala,  which  Help  two  of  Manila's  Suburbs  to  Shake 

Hands  Across  the  Pasig 106 

Calzada  de  San  Sebastian 114 


Xll  LIST   OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Facing 
fage 

Ploughing  in  the  Rice-fields  with  the  Carabao        .       .        .  122 
Types  of  True  Filipinos  Waiting  to  Call  Themselves  Americans.    130 

On  the  Banks  of  the  Enchanted  Lake 138 

In  the  Narrow  Streets  of  Old  Manila.    A  Procession      .        .144 

A  Citizen  from  the  Interior 152 

How  the  World's  Supply  of  Manila  Hemp  is  Cleaned      .       .  160 

Moro  Chiefs  from  Mindanao 168 

Manila  Fruit-girls  in  a  Street-Corner  Attitude         .       .        .176 

A  Typical  "  Nipa  "  House 184 

The  Little  Flower-girl  at  the  Opera 192 

Rapid  Transit  in  the  Suburbs  of  Manila 202 

The  Fourth  of  July,  '95-    Execution  by  the  Garrote      .        .  210 

Paseo  de  la  Luneta 220 

Captain  Tayler,  the  Genial  Skipper  of  the  Esmeralda       .        .  226 

Map  of  Philippines At  End  of  Volume 


INTRODUCTION 

BY  the  victory  of  our  fleet  at  Manila  Bay,  one 
more  of  the  world's  side-tracked  capitals  has  been 
pulled  from  obscurity  into  main  lines  of  prominence 
and  the  average  citizen  is  no  longer  left,  as  in  days 
gone  by,  to  suppose  that  Manila  is  spelt  with  two  1's 
and  is  floating  around  in  the  South  Sea  somewhere 
between  Fiji  arid  Patagonia.  The  Philippines  have 
been  discovered,  and  the  daily  journals  with  their 
cheap  maps  have  at  last  located  Spain's  Havana  in 
the  Far  East.  It  is  indeed  curious  that  a  city  of 
a  third  of  a  million  people — capital  of  a  group 
of  islands  as  large  as  New  England,  New  York, 
Delaware,  Maryland,  and  New  Jersey,  which  have 
long  furnished  the  whole  world  with  its  entire  sup- 
ply of  Manila  hemp,  which  have  exported  some 
160,000  tons  of  sugar  in  a  single  year  and  which  to- 
day produce  as  excellent  tobacco  as  that  coming  from 
the  West  Indies — it  is  curious,  I  say,  that  a  city  of 
this  size  should  have  gone  so  long  unnoticed  and  mis- 
spelt. But  such  has  been  the  case,  and  until  Admiral 

Dewey  fired  the  shots  that  made  Manila  heard  round 

xiii 


XIV  INTRODUCTION 

the  world,  the  people  of  these  United  States — with 
but  few  exceptions — lived  and  died  without  knowing 
where  the  stuff  in  their  clothes-lines  came  from. 

Now  that  the  Philippines  are  ours,  do  we  want 
them  ?  Can  we  run  them  ?  Are  they  the  long-looked- 
for  El  Dorado  which  those  who  have  never  been 
there  suppose  ?  To  all  of  which  questions — even  at 
the  risk  of  being  called  unpatriotic — I  am  inclined  to 
answer,  No. 

Do  we  want  them?  Do  we  want  a  group  of  1,400 
islands,  nearly  8,000  miles  from  our  Western  shores, 
sweltering  in  the  tropics,  swept  with  typhoons  and 
shaken  with  earthquakes?  Do  we  want  to  under- 
take the  responsibility  of  protecting  those  islands 
from  the  powers  in  Europe  or  the  East,  and  of  stand- 
ing sponsor  for  the  nearly  8,000,000  native  inhabitants 
that  speak  a  score  of  different  tongues  and  live  on 
anything  from  rice  to  stewed  grasshoppers  ?  Do  we 
want  the  task  of  civilizing  this  race,  of  opening  up 
the  jungle,  of  setting  up  officials  in  frontier,  out-of- 
the-way  towns  who  won't  have  been  there  a  month 
before  they  will  wish  to  return  ? 

Do  we  want  them?  No.  Why?  Because  we  have 
got  enough  to  look  after  at  home.  Because — unlike 
the  Englishman  or  the  German  who,  early  realizing 
that  his  country  is  too  small  to  support  him,  grows 
up  with  the  feeling  that  he  must  relieve  the  burden 


INTRODUCTION  XV 

by  going  to  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  sea — our 
young  men  have  room  enough  at  home  in  which  to 
exert  their  best  energies  without  going  eight  or 
eleven  thousand  miles  across  land  and  water  to 
tropic  islands  in  the  Far  East. 

Can  we  run  them  ?  The  Philippines  are  hard  ma- 
terial with  which  to  make  our  first  colonial  experi- 
ment, and  seem  to  demand  a  different  sort  of  treat- 
ment from  that  which  our  national  policy  favors  or 
has  had  experience  in  giving.  Besides  the  peaceable 
natives  occupying  the  accessible  towns,  the  interiors 
of  many  of  the  islands  are  filled  with  aboriginal 
savages  who  have  never  even  recognized  the  rule  of 
Spain — who  have  never  even  heard  of  Spain,  and  who 
still  think  they  are  possessors  of  the  soil.  Even  on 
the  coast  itself  are  tribes  of  savages  who  are  almost 
as  ignorant  as  their  brethren  in  the  interior,  and  only 
thirty  miles  from  Manila  are  races  of  dwarfs  that  go 
without  clothes,  wear  knee-bracelets  of  horsehair, 
and  respect  nothing  save  the  jungle  in  which  they 
live.  To  the  north  are  the  Igorrotes,  to  the  south 
the  Moros,  and  in  between,  scores  of  wild  tribes  that 
are  ready  to  dispute  possession.  And  is  the  United 
States  prepared  to  maintain  the  forces  and  carry  on 
the  military  operations  in  the  fever-stricken  jungles 
necessary  in  the  march  of  progress  to  exterminate  or 
civilize  such  races  ?  Have  we,  like  England  for  in- 


XVI  INTKODtJCTION 

stance,  the  class  of  troops  who  could  undertake  that 
sort  of  work,  and  do  we  feel  called  upon  to  do  it, 
when  the  same  expenditure  at  home  would  go  so 
much  further?  The  Philippines  must  be  run  under 
a  despotic  though  kindly  form  of  government,  sup- 
ported by  arms  and  armor-clads,  and  to  deal  with  the 
perplexing  questions  and  perplexing  difficulties  that 
arise,  needs  knowledge  gained  by  experience,  by  hav- 
ing dealt  with  other  such  problems  before. 

Are  the  Philippines  an  El  Dorado  ?  Like  Borneo, 
like  Java  and  the  Spice  Islands,  the  Philippines  are 
rich  in  natural  resources,  but  their  capacity  to  yield 
more  than  the  ordinary  remuneration  to  labor  I  much 
question.  Leaving  aside  the  question  of  gold  and 
coal,  in  the  working  of  which,  so  far,  more  money  has 
been  put  into  the  ground  than  has  ever  been  taken 
out,  the  great  crops  in  these  islands  are  sugar,  hemp, 
and  tobacco.  The  sugar  crop,  to  be  sure,  has  the 
possibilities  that  it  has  anywhere,  where  the  soil  is 
rich  and  conditions  favorable.  The  tobacco  industry 
has  perhaps  more  possibilities,  and  might  be  made 
a  close  rival  to  that  in  Cuba.  But  the  hemp  crop  is 
limited  by  the  world's  needs,  and  as  those  needs  are 
just  so  much  each  year,  there  is  no  object  in  increas- 
ing a  supply  which  up  to  date  has  been  adequate. 
There  are  foreigners  in  the  Philippines,  who  have 
been  there  for  years,  who  have  controlled  the  exports 


INTRODUCTION  XV11 

of  sugar  or  hemp  or  tobacco,  who  have  made  their 
living,  and  who  from  having  been  longer  on  the 
ground  should  be  the  first  to  improve  the  oppor- 
tunities that  may  come  with  the  downfall  of  Spanish 
rule.  There  are  some  things  which  the  United  States 
can  send  to  the  Philippines  cheaper  than  the  Conti- 
nental manufacturers,  but  not  many.  She  can  send 
flour  and  some  kinds  of  machinery,  she  can  put  in 
electric  plants,  she  can  build  railways,  but  at  present 
she  can't  produce  the  cheap  implements,  and  the  nec- 
essaries required  by  the  great  bulk  of  poor  natives  at 
the  low  price  which  England  and  Germany  can. 

The  Philippines  are  not  an  El  Dorado  simply  be- 
cause for  the  first  time  they  have  been  brought  to  our 
notice.  They  should  not  yield  more  than  the  ordi- 
nary return  to  labor,  and  the  question  is,  does  the 
average  American  want  to  live  in  a  distant  land,  cut 
off  from  friends  and  a  civilized  climate,  only  to  get 
the  ordinary  return  for  his  efforts?  To  which,  even 
though  of  course  there  is  much  to  be  said  on  the 
other  side,  I  would  answer,  No.  We  have  gone  to 
war,  remembering  the  Maine,  to  free  Cuba,  and  at  the 
first  blow  have  taken  another  group  of  islands — a 
Cuba  in  the  East — to  deal  with.  I  have  not  the 
space  here  to  discuss  the  solution  of  the  problem, 
but,  for  my  part,  I  should  like  to  see  England  interest- 
ed in  buying  back  an  archipelago  which  she  formerly 


XV111  INTRODUCTION 

held  for  ransom,  leaving  us  perhaps  a  coaling  port, 
and  opening  up  the  country  to  such  as  chose  to  go 
there.  Then,  with  someone  else  to  shoulder  the 
burden  of  government  and  protection,  we  should  still 
have  all  the  opportunities  for  proving  whether  or  not 
the  islands  were  the  El  Dorado  dreamed  of  in  our 
clubs  or  counting-rooms. 

At  the  close  of  1893, 1  went  to  Manila  for  Messrs. 
Henry  W.  Peabody  &  Co.,  of  Boston  and  New  York, 
in  the  interest  of  their  hemp  business,  and,  associated 
with  Mr.  A.  H.  Band,  remained  there  for  two  years. 
We  two  were  the  representatives  of  the  only  Ameri- 
can house  doing  business  in  the  Philippines,  and 
made  up  practically  fifty  per  cent,  of  the  American 
business  colony  in  Manila.  The  years  from  1894  to 
1896  were  peculiarly  peaceful  with  the  quiet  coming 
before  the  storm,  and  we  were  fortunate  enough  to 
be  able  to  make  many  excursions  and  go  into  many 
parts  of  the  island  that  later  would  have  been  dan- 
gerous. But  as  the  short  term  of  our  service  drew 
to  a  close,  rumors  of  trouble  began  to  circulate.  The 
natives  had  long  suffered  from  the  demands  made  by 
the  Church  and  the  tax-gatherer,  and  there  was  a 
feeling  that  they  might  again  attempt  to  throw  off  the 
Spanish  yoke,  as  they  attempted,  without  success, 
some  years  before.  It  was  at  this  period  that  Messrs. 
Peabody  &  Co.  decided  it  would  be  to  their  unques- 


INTRODUCTION  XIX 

tionable  advantage  to  retire  from  the  islands  and  to 
place  their  business  in  the  hands  of  an  English  firm, 
long  established  on  the  ground,  and  well  equipped 
with  men  who,  unlike  ourselves,  looked  forward  to 
passing  the  rest  of  their  days  in  the  Philippines,. 
And  the  move  was  a  good  one,  for  no  sooner  had  we 
left  Manila  than  revolution  broke  out.  The  Spanish 
troops  were  at  the  south,  and  that  mysterious  native 
brotherhood  of  the  Katipunan  called  its  members  to 
attack  the  capital.  A  massacre  was  planned,  but  the 
right  leaders  were  lacking  and  the  attempt  failed. 
The  troops  were  recalled,  guards  doubled,  draw- 
bridges into  old  Manila  pulled  up  nightly,  arrests 
and  executions  made.  As  is  well  known,  one  hun- 
dred suspects  were  crowded  into  that  old  dungeon  on 
the  river,  just  at  the  corner  of  the  city  wall,  and  be- 
cause it  came  on  to  rain  at  night-fall,  an  officer  shut 
down  the  trap-door  leading  to  the  prisoners'  cells  to 
keep  out  the  water.  But  it  also  kept  out  the  air. 
and  next  morning  sixty  out  of  the  one  hundred  per- 
sons were  suffocated.  Then  Manila  had  her  Black 
Hole.  Later,  other  suspects  were  stood  on  the  curb- 
ing that  surrounds  the  Luneta  and  were  shot  down 
while  the  big  artillery  band  discoursed  patriotic  music 
to  the  crowds  that  thronged  the  promenade.  And 
from  then  until  Admiral  Dewey  silenced  the  guns  at 
Cavite  and  sunk  the  Spanish  ships  that  used  to  swing 


XX  INTRODUCTION 

peacefully  at  anchor  off  the  breakwater,  the  Span- 
iards had  their  hands  full  with  a  revolution  brought 
on  by  their  own  rotten  system  of  government. 

If  in  place  of  the  more  systematic  narratives  of 
description,  the  more  serious  presentations  of  sta- 
tistics, or  the  more  exciting  accounts  of  the  bloody 
months  of  the  revolution  and  the  wonderful  victory 
of  our  gallant  fleet,  which  are  to  be  looked  for  from 
other  sources,  the  reader  cares  to  get  some  idea  of 
casual  life  in  Manila,  by  accepting  the  rather  collo- 
quial chronicle  of  an  ex-resident  that  follows,  I  shall 
have  made  some  little  return  to  islands  that  robbed 
me  of  little  else  than  two  years  of  a  more  hurried 
existence  in  State  Street  or  Broadway. 


YESTERDAYS  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


Leaving  "  God's  Country  " — Hong  Kong — Crossing  to  Luzon — Manila 
Bay — First  View  of  the  City— Earthquake  Precautions — Balco- 
nies and  Window-Gratings— The  River  Pasig— Promenade  of  the 
Malecon— The  Old  City — The  Puente  de  Espana— Population — 
A  Philippine  Bed— The  English  Club— The  Luneta— A  Christmas 
Dinner  at  the  Club. 

"I  WOULDN'T  give  much  for  your  chances  of  coming 
back  unboxed,"  said  the  Captain  to  me,  as  the  China 
steamed  out  from  the  Golden  Gate  on  the  twenty-five 
day  voyage  to  Hong  Kong  via  Honolulu  and  Yoko- 
hama. 

"  That's  God's  country  we're  leaving  behind,  sure 
enough,"  said  he,  "  and  you'll  find  it  out  after  a  week 
or  two  in  the  Philippines.  There's  Howe  came  back 
with  us  last  trip  from  there ;  almost  shuffled  off  on  the 
way.  Spent  half  a  year  in  Manila  with  smallpox, 
fever,  snakes,  typhoons,  and  earthquakes,  and  had  to 
be  carried  aboard  ship  at  Hong  Kong  and  off  at 
'Frisco.  Guess  he's  about  done  for  all  right." 

And  as   Howe  happened  to  be  the  unfortunate 


2  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE   PHILIPPINES 

whose  place  in  Manila  1  was  going  to  take,  you  know, 
I  heeded  the  skipper's  advice  and  looked  with  more 
fervor  on  God's  country  than  I  had  for  some  days. 
For  it  was  a  dusty  trip  across  country  from  Boston 
on  the  Pacific  express ;  and  because  babies  are  my  pet 
aversion  every  mother's  son  of  them  aboard  the  train 
was  quartered  in  my  car — three  families  moving  West 
to  grow  up  with  the  country,  and  all  of  them  occupy- 
ing the  three  sections  nearest  mine.  I  got  so  weary 
of  the  five  cooing,  coughing,  crying  "  clouds-of-glory- 
trailers,"  that  it  seemed  a  relief  at  San  Francisco  to 
wash  off  the  dust  of  the  Middle  West  and  get  aboard 
the  P.  M.  S.  Company's  steamer  China  bound  for  the 
far  East. 

But  the  Captain,  like  the  whistle,  was  somewhat  of 
a  blower,  and  liked  to  make  me  and  the  missionaries 
aboard  feel  we  were  leaving  behind  all  that  was  de- 
sirable. And  how  he  bothered  the  twoscore  or 
more  of  them  bound  for  the  up-river  ports  of  Middle 
China !  When,  after  leaving  the  Sandwich  Islands, 
the  voyage  had  proceeded  far  enough  for  everybody 
on  the  passenger-list  to  get  fairly  well  acquainted 
with  his  neighbors,  these  spreaders  of  the  gospel  fol- 
lowed the  custom  established  by  their  predecessors 
and  made  plans  for  a  Sunday  missionary  service. 
Without  so  much  as  asking  leave  of  the  skipper,  they 
posted  in  the  companion-way  the  following  notice  : 


YESTEBDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


Service  in  the  Saloon, 
Sunday,  10  A.M. 

Rev.  X.  Y.  Z.  Smith,  of  Wang- 
kiang, China, will  speak  on 
mission  work  on  the  Upper 
Yangtse. 

All  are  invited. 


But  they  counted  without  their  host.  The  Cap- 
tain had  never  schooled  himself  to  look  on  mission- 
aries with  favor,  and  he  accordingly  made  arrange- 
ments to  cross  the  meridian  where  the  circle  of  time 
changes  and  a  day  is  dropped  early  on  Sunday 
morning.  He  calculated  to  a  nicety,  and  as  the  pas- 
sengers came  down  to  Sabbath  breakfast  they  saw 
posted  below  the  other  notice,  in  big  letters,  the 
significant  words : 


Sunday,  Nov.  29th. 
Ship  crosses  ISOth  meridian 

9.30  A.M., 
After  which  it  will  be  Monday. 


4  YESTERDAYS   IN   THE  PHILIPPINES 

In  Yokohama  and  Hong  Kong  the  wiseacres  were 
free  in  saying  they  wouldn't  be  found  dead  in  Ma- 
nila or  the  Philippines  for  anything.  They  had 
never  been  there,  but  knew  all  about  it,  and  seemed 
ready  to  wave  any  one  bound  thither  a  sort  of 
never'11-see-you-again  farewell  that  was  most  affect- 
ing. It  is  these  very  people  that  have  made  Manila 
the  side-tracked  capital  that  it  is  and  have  scared  off 
globe-trotters  from  making  it  a  visit  on  their  way  to 
the  Straits  of  Malacca  and  India. 

Hong  Kong,  the  end  of  the  China's  outward  run, 
bursts  into  view  after  a  narrow  gateway,  between 
inhospitable  cliffs,  lets  the  steamer  into  a  great  bay 
which  is  the  centre  of  admiration  for  bleak  mountain- 
ranges.  The  city,  with  its  epidemic  of  arcaded  bal- 
conies, lies  along  the  water  to  the  left  and  goes  step- 
ping up  the  steep  slopes  to  the  peak  behind,  on 
whose  summit  the  signal-flags  announce  our  arrival. 
The  China  has  scarcely  a  chance  to  come  to  an- 
chor in  peace  before  a  storm  of  sampans  bite  her 
sides  like  mosquitoes,  and  hundreds  of  Chinawomen 
come  hustling  up  to  secure  your  trade,  while  their 
lazy  husbands  stay  below  and  smoke. 

Hong  Kong  rather  feels  as  if  it  were  the  "  central 
exchange  "  for  the  Far  East,  and  from  the  looks  of 
things  I  judge  it  is.  The  great  bay  is  full  of  deep- 
water  ships,  the  quays  teem  with  life,  and  the  streets 


YESTEKDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  5 

are  full  of  quiet  bustle.  It  is  quite  enough  to  give 
one  heart  disease  to  shin  up  the  hills  to  the  res- 
idence part  of  the  town,  and  it  took  me  some  time 
to  find  breath  enough  to  tell  the  Spanish  Consul  I 
wanted  him  to  vise  my  passport  to  Manila. 

This  interesting  stronghold  of  Old  England  in  the 
East  is  fertile  in  descriptive  matter  by  the  whole- 
sale, but  I  can't  rob  my  friends  in  the  Philippines  of 
more  space  than  enough  to  chronicle  the  doings  of  a 
Chinese  tailor  who  made  me  up  my  first  suit  of  thin 
tweeds.  Ripping  off  the  broad  margin  to  the  Hong 
Kong  Daily  Press,  he  stood  me  on  a  box,  took  my 
measure  with  his  strip  of  paper,  making  sundry  little 
tears  along  its  length,  according  as  it  represented 
length  of  sleeve  or  breadth  of  chest,  and  sent  me  off 
with  a  placid  "Me  makee  allee  same  plopper  tree 
day ;  no  fittee  no  takee."  And  I'm  bound  to  say  that 
the  thin  suits  Tak  Cheong  built  for  $6  apiece,  from 
nothing  but  the  piece  of  paper  full  of  tears,  fit  to  far 
greater  perfection  than  the  system  of  measurement 
would  seem  to  have  warranted. 

The  voyage  from  Hong  Kong  to  Manila,  700 
miles  to  the  southeast,  is  one  of  the  worst  short 
ocean-crossings  in  existence,  and  the  Esmeralda, 
Captain  Tayler,  as  she  went  aslant  the  seas  rolling 
down  from  Japan,  in  front  of  the  northeast  mon- 
soon, developed  such  a  corkscrew  motion  that  I 


6  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

fear  it  will  take  a  return  trip  against  the  other 
monsoon  to  untwist  the  feelings  of  her  passengers. 
On  the  morning  of  the  second  day,  however,  the 
yawing  ceased  ;  the  skipper  said  we  were  under  the 
lee  of  Luzon,  the  largest  and  most  northern  island  of 
the  Philippines,  and  not  long  after  the  high  moun- 
tains of  the  shore -range  loomed  up  off  the  port 
bow.  From  then  on  our  chunky  craft  of  1,000  tons 
steamed  closer  to  the  coast  and  turned  headland  after 
headland  as  she  poked  south  through  schools  of  fly- 
ing-fish and  porpoises. 

By  afternoon  the  light-house  onCorregidor  appeared, 
and  with  a  big  sweep  to  the  left  the  Esmeralda  entered 
the  Boca  Chica,  or  narrow  mouth  to  Manila  Bay.  On 
the  left,  the  coast  mountains  sloped  steeply  up  for 
some  5,000  feet,  while  on  the  right  the  island  of 
Corregidor,  with  its  more  moderate  altitude,  stood 
planted  in  the  twelve-mile  opening  to  worry  the  tides 
that  swept  in  and  out  from  the  China  Sea.  Beyond 
lay  the  Boca  Grande,  or  wide  mouth  used  by  ships 
coming  from  the  south  or  going  thither,  and  still 
beyond  again  rose  the  lower  mountains  of  the  south 
coast.  In  front  the  Bay  opened  with  a  grand  sweep 
right  and  left,  till  the  shore  was  lost  in  waves  of  warm 
air,  and  only  the  dim  blue  of  distant  mountains  showed 
where  the  opposite  perimeter  of  the  great  circle  might 
be  located. 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  7 

It  was  twenty-seven  miles  across  the  bay,  and  the 
sun  had  set  with  a  wealth  of  color  in  the  opening 
behind  us  before  we  came  to  anchor  amid  a  fleet  of 
ships  and  steamers  off  a  low-lying  shore  that  showed 
many  lights  in  long  rows.  Next  morning  Manila  lay 
visibly  before  us,  but  failed  to  convey  much  idea  of 
its  size,  from  the  fact  that  it  stretched  far  back  on  the 
low  land,  thus  permitting  the  eye  to  see  only  the 
front  line  of  buildings  and  a  few  taller  and  more 
distant  church-steeples.  Not  far  in  the  background 
rose  a  high  range  of  velvet-like  looking  mountains 
whose  tops  aspired  to  show  themselves  above  the 
clouds,  and  on  the  right  and  left  stretched  flanking 
ranges  of  lower  altitude. 

In  due  season  my  colleague  came  off  to  the  anchor- 
age in  a  small  launch,  and  we  were  soon  steaming 
back  up  a  narrow  river  thickly  fringed  with  small 
ships,  steamers,  houses,  quays,  and  people.  It  was 
piping  hot  at  the  low  custom-house  on  the  quay. 
Panting  carabao — the  oxen  of  the  East — tried  to  find 
shade  under  a  parcel  of  bamboos,  shaggy  goats  nosed 
about  for  stray  bits  of  crude  sugar  dropped  from  bags 
being  discharged  by  coolies,  piles  of  machinery  were 
lying  around  promiscuously  dumped  into  the  deep 
mud  of  the  outyards,  natives  with  bared  backs  gleam- 
ing in  the  sun  were  lugging  hemp  or  prying  open 
boxes,  and  under-officials  with  sharp  rods  were  probing 


8  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

flour-sacks  in  the  search  for  contraband.  Spanish 
officials  in  full  uniform,  smoking  cigarettes,  playing 
chess,  and  fanning  themselves  in  their  comfortable 
seats  in  bent-wood  rocking-chairs,  were  interrupted  by 
our  arrival,  and  made  one  boil  within  as  they  upset 
the  baggage  and  searched  for  smuggled  dollars. 

Here,  then,  was  the  anti-climax  to  the  long  journey 
of  forty  days  from  Boston,  and  those  were  the  moments 
in  which  to  realize  the  meaning  of  the  expression 
made  by  the  Captain  of  the  China  as  she  left  the 
Golden  Gate  :  "  Take  a  last  look,  for  you're  leaving 
behind  God's  country." 

Before  arrival,  while  yet  the  Esmeralda  was  steam- 
ing down  the  coast,  I  was  resolved  to  refrain  from 
judging  Manila  by  first  impressions.  I  felt  primed 
for  anything,  and  was  bound  to  be  neither  surprised 
nor  disappointed.  At  first,  I  may  admit,  my  chin 
and  collar  drooped,  but  on  meeting  with  my  new  asso- 
ciate I  gave  them  a  mental  starching  and  stepped 
with  courage  into  the  rickety  barouche  that,  drawn 
by  two  small  and  bony  ponies,  took  us  to  the  office  of 
Henry  W.  Peabody  &  Co.,  the  only  American  house 
in  the  Philippines. 

And  having  entered  the  two  upstair  rooms,  that 
looked  out  over  the  little  Plaza  de  Cervantes,  I  was  in- 
troduced to  bamboo  chairs,  a  quartette  of  desks,  and 
half  a  dozen  office-boys,  who  were  rudely  awakened 


i 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE   PHILIPPINES  9 

from  their  morning's  slumber  by  the  scuffle  of  my 
heavy  boots  on  the  broad,  black  planks  of  the  shining- 
floors.  Across  the  larger  room,  suspended  from  the 
ceiling,  hung  the  big  "  punka,"  which  seems  to  form 
a  most  important  article  of  furniture  in  every  tropical 
establishment.  On  my  arrival  the  boy  who  pulled  the 
string  got  down  to  work,  and  amid  the  sea-breezes 
that  blew  the  morning's  mail  about,  business  of  the 
day  began. 

The  first  thing  I  noticed  was  that  cloth  instead  of 
plaster  formed  the  walls  and  ceilings,  and  seemed  far 
less  likely  than  the  mixture  of  lime  and  water  to  fall 
into  baby's  crib  or  onto  the  dinner-table  during  those 
terrestrial  or  celestial  exhibitions  for  which  Manila  is 
famous.  For  the  Philippines  are  said  to  be  the 
cradle  of  earthquake  and  typhoon,  and  in  buildings, 
everywhere,  construction  seems  to  conform  to  the 
requirements  of  these  much  -  respected  "movers." 
Tiles  on  roofs,  they  say,  are  now  forbidden,  since  the 
passers-by  below  are  not  willing  to  wear  brass  hel- 
mets or  carry  steel  umbrellas  to  ward  off  a  shower  of 
those  missiles  started  by  a  heavy  shake.  Galvanized 
iron  is  used  instead,  and,  while  detracting  from  the 
picturesque,  has  added  to  the  security  of  households 
who  once  used  to  be  rudely  awakened  from  their 
slumbers  by  the  extra  weight  of  tile  bedspreads. 

And  Manila  houses.    Down  in  the  town,  outside 


10  YESTERDAYS   IN   THE  PHILIPPINES 

the  city  walls,  the  regular,  or  rather  irregular,  Spanish 
type  prevails,  and  nature,  in  her  nervousness,  seems 
to  have  done  much  in  dispensing  with  lines  horizontal 
and  perpendicular.  The  buildings  all  have  an  ap- 
pearance of  feebleness  and  senility,  and  look  as  if 
a  good  blow  or  a  heavy  shake  would  lay  them  flat. 
But  in  the  old  city,  behind  the  fortifications,  are  heavy 
buttressed  buildings  of  by-gone  days,  built  when  it  was 
thought  that  earthquakes  respected  thick  walls  rather 
than  thin,  and  the  sturdy  buttresses  so  occupy  the 
narrow  sidewalks  that  pedestrians  must  travel  single 
file.  The  Spanish — so  it  seems — rejoice  to  huddle 
together  in  these  gloomy  houses  of  Manila  proper, 
but  the  rich  natives,  half-castes,  and  foreigners  all 
prefer  the  newer  villas  outside  the  narrow  streets  and 
musty  walls ;  and  just  as  much  as  the  Anglo-Saxon 
likes  to  place  a  grass-plot  or  a  garden  between  him 
and  the  thoroughfare  in  front  of  his  residence,  so 
does  the  Spaniard  seek  to  hug  close  to  the  street,  and 
even  builds  his  house  to  overhang  the  sidewalk.  Save 
for  carriages  and  dogs,  the  lower  floors  of  city  houses 
are  generally  deserted,  and,  on  account  of  fevers  that 
hang  about  in  the  mists  of  the  low-ground,  everyone 
takes  to  living  on  the  upper  story.  Balconies,  which 
are  so  elaborate  that  they  carry  the  whole  upper  part 
of  the  house  out  over  the  sidewalk,  are  a  conspicuous 
feature  in  all  the  buildings  of  older  construction,  and 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  11 

with  their  engaging  overhang  afford  opportunities  for 
leaning  out  to  talk  with  passers-by  below,  or  a  con- 
venient vantage-ground  from  which  to  throw  the 
waste  water  from  wash-basins.  Huge  window-gratings 
thrust  themselves  forward  from  the  walls  of  the  lower 
story,  and  are  often  big  enough  to  permit  dogs  and 
servants  to  sit  in  them  and  watch  the  pedestrians, 
who  almost  have  to  leave  the  sidewalk  to  get  around 
these  great  cages. 

It  may  be  just  as  well,  before  going  farther,  to  say 
something  about  this  town  that  is  sarcastically  labelled 
"Pearl  of  the  Orient"  and  "Venice  of  the  Far  East" 
by  poets  who  have  only  seen  the  oyster-shell  windows 
or  back  doors  on  the  Pasig  on  the  cover-labels  of 
cigar-boxes.  It  seems  big  enough  to  supply  me  with 
the  pianos  and  provisions  which  kind  friends  sug- 
gested I  bring  out  with  me  in  case  of  need,  and  the 
main  street,  Escolta,  is  as  busy  with  life  and  as  well 
fringed  with  shops  as  a  Washington  street  or  a 
Broadway. 

Spanish,  of  course,  is  the  court  and  commercial  lan- 
guage and,  except  among  the  uneducated  natives  who 
have  a  lingo  of  their  own  or  among  the  few  members 
of  the  Anglo-Saxon  colony — it  has  a  monopoly  every- 
where. No  one  can  really  get  on  without  it,  and  even 
the  Chinese  come  in  with  their  peculiar  pidgin  variety. 

The  city  squats   around  its  old  friend  the  river 


12  YESTEKDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

Pasig,  and  shakes  hands  with  itself  in  the  several 
bridges  that  bind  one  side  to  the  other.  On  the  right 
bank  of  the  river,  coming  in  from  the  bay  and  passing 
up  by  the  breakwater,  lies  the  old  walled  town  of 
Manila  proper,  whose  weedy  moats,  ponderous  draw- 
bridges, and  heavy  gates  suggest  a  troubled  past.  Old 
Manila  may  be  figured  as  a  triangle,  a  mile  on  a  side, 
and  the  dingy  walls  seem,  as  it  were,  to  herd  in  a 
drove  of  church-steeples,  schools,  houses,  and  streets. 
The  river  is  the  boundary  on  the  north,  and  the  wall 
at  that  side  but  takes  up  the  quay  which  runs  in  from 
the  breakwater  and  carries  it  up  to  the  Puente  de 
Espafia,  the  first  bridge  that  has  courage  enough  to 
span  the  yellow  stream. 

The  front  wall  runs  a  mile  to  the  south  along  the 
bay  front,  starting  at  the  river  in  the  old  fort  and  bat- 
tery that  look  down  on  the  berth  where  the  Esme- 
ralda  lies,  and  is  separated  from  the  beach  only  by  an 
old  moat  and  the  promenade  of  the  Malecon,  which, 
also  beginning  at  the  river,  runs  to  an  open  plaza 
called  the  Luneta,  a  mile  up  the  beach.  The  east 
wall  takes  up  the  business  at  that  point,  and  wobbles 
off  at  an  angle  again  till  it  brings  up  at  the  river  for- 
tifications, just  near  where  the  Puente  de  EspaSa,  al- 
ready spoken  of,  carries  all  the  traffic  across  the  Pasig. 
Thus  the  old  city  is  cooped  up  like  pool-balls,  in  a  tri- 
angle three  miles  around,  and  the  walls  do  as  much  in 


YESTEEDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  13 

keeping  out  the  wind  as  they  do  in  keeping  in  the 
various  unsavory  odors  that  come  from  people  who 
like  garlic  and  don't  take  baths.  Here  is  the  cathe- 
dral— a  fine  old  church  that  cost  a  million  of  money 
and  was  widowed  of  its  steeple  in  the  earthquakes  of 
the  '80s — and  besides  a  lot  of  smaller  churches  are 
convent  schools,  the  city  hall,  army  barracks,  and  a 
raft  of  private  residences. 

Opposite  Old  Manila,  on  the  other  bank,  lies  the 
business  section,  with  the  big  quays  lined  with  steam- 
ers and  alive  with  movement.  The  custom-house 
and  the  foreign  business  community  are  close  by  the 
river-side,  while  in  back  are  hundreds  of  narrow 
streets,  storehouses,  and  shops  that  go  to  make  up  the 
stamping  ground  of  the  Chinese  who  control  so  large 
a  part  of  the  provincial  trade. 

Everything  centres  at  the  foot  of  the  Puente  de 
Espana,  which  pours  its  perspiring  flood  into  the  nar- 
row lane  of  the  Escolta,  and  people,  carriages,  tram- 
cars,  and  dust  all  sail  in  here  from  north,  east,  south, 
and  west.  As  on  the  other  side,  the  busy  part  of  the 
section  runs  a  mile  up  and  down  the  river  and  a  mile 
back  from  it,  while  out  or  up  beyond  come  the  earlier 
residential  suburbs.  In  Old  Manila,  the  Church  seems 
to  rule,  but  on  this  side  the  Pasig  the  State  makes 
itself  felt,  from  the  custom-house  to  the  governor's 
palace — a  couple  of  miles  up-stream. 


14  YESTERDAYS  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

As  to  population,  Manila,  in  the  larger  sense,  may 
hold  350,000  souls,  besides  a  few  dogs.  Of  the  lot, 
call  50,000  Chinese,  5,000  Spaniards,  150  Germans, 
90  English,  and  4  Americans.  The  rest  are  natives  or 
half-castes  of  the  Malay  type,  whose  blood  runs  in  all 
mixtures  of  Chinese,  Spanish,  and  what-not  propor- 
tions, and  whose  Chinese  eyes,  flat  noses,  and  high 
cheek-bones  are  queer  accompaniments  to  their  Span- 
ish accents.  Thus  the  majority  of  the  souls  in 
Manila — like  the  dogs — are  mongrels,  or  mestizos,  as 
the  word  is,  and  the  saying  goes  that  happy  is  the 
man  who  knows  his  own  father. 

I  spent  my  first  night  in  Manila  at  the  Spanish 
Hotel  El  Oriente,  and  it  was  here  that  I  became 
acquainted  with  that  peculiar  institution,  the  Philip- 
pine bed.  And  to  the  newly  arrived  traveller  its 
peculiar  rig  and  construction  make  it  command  a 
good  deal  of  interest,  if  not  respect.  It  is  a  four- 
poster,  with  the  posts  extending  high  enough  to  sup- 
port a  light  roof,  from  whose  eaves  hang  copious  folds 
of  deep  lace.  The  bed-frame  is  strung  tightly  across 
with  regular  chair-bottom  cane,  and  the  only  other 
fittings  are  a  piece  of  straw  matting  spread  over  the 
cane,  a  pillow,  and  a  surrounding  wall  of  mosquito- 
netting  that  drops  down  from  the  roof  and  is  tucked 
in  under  the  matting.  How  to  get  into  one  of  these 
cages  was  the  first  question  that  presented  itself,  and 


CX 


3 


YESTEKDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  15 

what  to  do  with  myself  after  I  got  in  was  the  second. 
It  took  at  least  half  an  hour  to  make  up  my  mind  as 
to  the  proper  mode  of  entrance,  when  I  was  for  the 
first  time  alone  with  this  Philippine  curiosity,  and  I 
couldn't  make  out  whether  it  was  proper  to  get  in 
through  the  roof  or  the  bottom  or  the  side.  After 
finally  pulling  away  the  netting,  I  found  the  hard 
cane  bottom  about  as  soft  as  the  teak  floor,  and  looked 
in  vain  for  blankets,  sheets,  and  mattresses.  In  fact, 
it  seems  as  if  I  had  gotten  into  an  unfurnished  house, 
and  the  more  I  thought  aboub  it  the  longer  I  stayed 
awake.  At  last  I  cut  my  way  out  of  the  peculiar 
arrangement,  dressed,  and  spent  the  decidedly  cool 
night  in  a  long  cane  chair,  preferring  not  to  experi- 
ment further  with  the  sleeping-machine  until  I  found 
out  how  it  worked. 

Next  morning  my  breakfast  was  brought  up  by  a 
native  boy,  and  consisted  of  a  cup  of  thick  chocolate, 
a  clammy  roll,  and  a  sort  of  seed-cake  without  any 
hole  in  it.  How  to  drink  the  chocolate,  which  was 
as  thick  as  molasses,  seemed  the  chief  question,  but  I 
rightly  concluded  that  the  seed-cake  was  put  there 
to  sop  it  out  of  the  cup,  after  the  fashion  of  blotting- 
paper.  Fortified  with  this  peculiar  combination,  I 
started  on  my  second  business  day  by  trying  to  re- 
member in  what  direction  the  office  lay,  and  wandered 
cityward  through  busy  streets,  often  bordered  with 


16  YESTERDAYS   IN   THE  PHILIPPINES 

arcaded  sidewalks,  which  were  further  shaded  from 
the  sun  by  canvas  curtains. 

After  beginning  the  morning  by  ordering  a  dozen 
suits  of  white  sheeting  from  a  native  tailor — price 
$2.50  apiece — I  was  introduced  to  the  members  of  the 
English  Club,  and  began  to  feel  more  at  home 
stretched  out  in  one  of  the  long  chairs  in  the  cool 
library.  It  seems  that  the  club  affords  shelter  and 
refreshment  to  its  fourscore  members  at  two  widely 
separated  points  of  the  compass,  one  just  on  the  banks 
of  the  Pasig  River,  where  its  waters,  slouching  down 
from  the  big  lake  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains,  are 
first  introduced  to  the  outlying  suburbs  of  the  city, 
and  the  other  in  the  heart  of  the  business  section. 
The  same  set  of  native  servants  do  for  both  depart- 
ments, since  no  one  stays  uptown  during  the  middle 
of  the  day  and  no  one  downtown  after  business  hours. 
As  a  result,  on  week-days,  after  the  light  breakfast  of 
the  early  morning  is  over  at  the  uptown  building,  the 
staff  of  waiters  and  assistants  hurry  downtown  in  the 
tram-cars  and  make  ready  for  the  noon  meal  at  the 
other  structure,  returning  home  to  the  suburbs  in  time 
to  officiate  at  dinner. 

At  the  downtown  club  is  the  6,000-volume  library, 
and  after  the  noonday  tiffin  it  is  always  customary  to 
stretch  out  in  one  of  the  long  bamboo  chairs  and  read 
one's  self  to  sleep.  This  is  indeed  a  land  where  lazi- 


17 

ness  becomes  second  nature.  If  you  want  a  book  or 
paper  on  the  table,  and  they  lie  more  than  a  yard  or 
two  from  where  you  are  located,  it  is  not  policy  to 
reach  for  them.  O,  no !  You  ring  a  bell  twice  as  far 
off,  take  a  nap  while  the  boy  comes  from  a  distance, 
and  wake  up  to  find  him  handing  you  them  with  a 
graceful  "  Aqui,  Senor !  "  In  fact,  I  have  even  just 
now  met  an  English  fellow  who,  they  tell  me,  took  a 
barber  with  him  on  a  recent  trip  to  the  southern 
provinces,  to  look  after  his  scanty  beard  that  was 
composed  of  no  more  than  three  or  four  dozen  hairs, 
each  of  which  grew  one-eighth  of  an  inch  quarterly. 
On  the  day  before  Christmas  one  of  the  guest-rooms 
at  the  uptown  club  was  vacated,  and  I  moved  in.  The 
building  is  about  two  and  a  half  miles  out  of  the  city, 
and  its  broad  balcony,  shaded  by  luxuriant  palms  and 
other  tropical  trees,  almost  overhangs  the  main  river 
that  splits  Manila  in  two.  The  view  from  this  tropical 
piazza  is  most  peaceful.  Opposite  lie  the  rice-fields, 
with  a  cluster  of  native  huts  surrounding  an  old 
church,  while,  blue  in  the  distance,  sleeps  a  range  of 
low  mountains.  To  the  left  the  river  winds  back  up- 
country  and  soon  loses  itself  in  many  turns  among 
the  foothills  that  later  grow  into  the  more  adult 
uplifts  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  while  to  the  right  it 
turns  a  sharp  corner  and  slides  down  between  broken 
rows  of  native  huts  and  more  elaborate  bungalows. 


18  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE   PHILIPPINES 

The  club-house  is  long,  low,  and  rambling.  The 
reading,  writing,  and  music  rooms  front  on  the  river, 
and  the  glossy  hard-wood  floors,  hand-hewn  out  of 
solid  trees,  seem  to  suggest  music  and  coolness.  It 
is  possible  to  reach  the  city  by  jumping  into  a  native 
boat  at  the  portico  on  the  river  bank,  or  to  go  by  one 
of  the  two-wheel  gigs,  called  carromatas,  waiting  at 
the  front  gate,  or  to  walk  a  block  and  take  the 
tram-car  which  jogs  down  through  the  busy  high- 
road. 

It  is  very  difficult  to  absorb  the  points  of  so  large 
a  place  at  one's  first  introduction,  so  I  won't  go  far- 
ther now  than  to  speak  of  that  far-famed  seaside 
promenade  called  the  Luneta,  where  society  takes  its 
airing  after  the  heat  of  the  day  is  over. 

Imagine  an  elliptical  plaza,  about  a  thousand  feet 
long,  situated  just  above  the  low  beach  which  borders 
the  Bay,  and  looking  over  toward  the  China  Sea.  Run- 
ning around  its  edge  is  a  broad  roadway,  bounded  on 
one  side  by  the  sea-wall,  and  on  the  other  by  the 
green  fields  and  bamboo-trees  of  the  parade-grounds. 
In  the  centre  of  the  raised  ellipse  is  the  band-stand, 
and  on  every  afternoon,  from  six  to  eight,  all  Manila 
come  here  to  feel  the  breeze,  hear  the  music,  and  see 
their  neighbors.  Hundreds  of  carriages  line  the 
roadways,  and  mounted  police  keep  them  in  proper 
file.  The  movement  is  from  right  to  left,  and  only 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE   PHILIPPINES  19 

the  Archbishop  and  the  Governor-General  are  allowed 
to  drive  in  the  opposite  direction. 

The  gentler  element,  in  order  not  to  encourage  a 
flow  of  perspiration  that  may  melt  off  their  complex- 
ions, take  to  carriages,  but  the  sterner  sex  prefer  to 
walk  up  and  down,  crowd  around  the  band-stand,  or 
sit  along  the  edge  of  the  curbing  in  chairs  rented  for 
a  couple  of  coppers.  Directly  in  front  lies  the  great 
Bay,  with  the  sun  going  down  in  the  Boca  Chica, 
between  the  hardly  visible  island  of  Corregidor  and 
the  main  land,  thirty  miles  away.  To  the  rear 
stretches  the  parade-ground,  backed  up  by  clumps  of 
bamboos  and  the  distant  mountains  beyond.  To  the 
right  lie  the  corner  batteries  and  walls  of  Old  Manila, 
and  to  the  left  the  attractive  suburb  of  Ermita,  with 
the  stretch  of  shore  running  along  toward  the  naval 
station  of  Cavite,  eleven  miles  away.  To  take  a 
chair,  watch  the  people  walking  to  and  fro,  and  see 
the  endless  stream  of  smart  turn-outs  passing  in  slow 
procession;  to  hear  a  band  of  fifty  pieces  render 
popular  and  classic  music  with  the  spirit  of  a  Sousa 
or  a  Beeves,  is  to  doubt  that  you  are  in  a  capital 
8,000  miles  from  Paris  and  11,000  miles  from  New 
York.  Footmen  with  tall  hats,  in  spotless  white 
uniforms,  grace  the  box-seats  of  the  low-built  victorias, 
while  tastefully  dressed  Spanish  women  or  wealthy 
half-castes  recline  against  the  soft  cushions  and  take 


20  YESTEKDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

for  granted  the  admiration  of  those  walking  up  and 
down  the  mall. 

The  splendidly  trained  artillery-band,  composed 
entirely  of  natives,  but  conducted  by  a  Spaniard,  plays 
half  a  dozen  selections  each  evening,  and  here  is  a 
treat  that  one  can  have  every  afternoon  of  the  year, 
free  of  charge.  There  are  no  snow-drifts  or  cold 
winds  to  mar  the  performance,  and,  except  during  the 
showers  and  winds  of  the  rainy  season,  it  goes  on 
without  interruption. 

After  the  music  is  over  the  carriages  rush  off  in 
every  direction,  behind  smart-stepping  little  ponies 
that  get  over  the  ground  at  a  tremendous  pace,  and 
the  dinner-hour  is  late  enough  not  to  rob  one  of 
those  pleasant  hours  at  just  about  sunset.  There 
are  no  horses  in  Manila — all  ponies,  and  some  of 
them  are  so  small  as  to  be  actually  insignificant. 
They  are  tremendously  tough  little  beasts,  however, 
and  stand  more  heat,  work,  and  beating  than  most 
horses  of  twice  their  size. 

Our  Christmas  dinner  at  the  club  has  just  ended, 
and  from  the  bill  of  fare  one  would  never  suspect 
he  was  not  at  the  Waldorf  or  the  Parker  House. 
Long  punkas  swung  to  and  fro  over  the  big  tables, 
small  serving  boys  in  bare  feet  rushed  hither  and 
thither  with  meat  and  drink,  corks  popped,  the  smart 
breeze  blew  jokes  about,  and  everyone  unbent. 


YESTERDAYS   IN   THE  PHILIPPINES  21 

Soups,  fish,  joints,  entrees,  removes,  hors-d'oeuvres, 
mince-pies,  plum-puddings,  and  all  the  delicacies  to 
be  found  in  cooler  climes  had  their  turn,  as  did  a 
variety  of  liquid  courses.  Singing,  speeches,  and 
music  followed  the  more  material  things,  and  every- 
one was  requested  to  take  some  part  in  the  perform- 
ance. By  the  time  the  show  was  over  the  piano  was 
dead-beat  and  everybody  hoarse  from  singing  by  the 
wrong  method. 


n 

Shopping  at  the  "  Botica  Inglesa  " — The  Chit  System — Celebrating 
New  Year's  Eve — Manila  Cooking  Arrangements — Floors  and 
Windows — Peculiarities  of  the  Tram-car  Service — Roosters  Ev- 
erywhere— Italian  Opera— Philippine  Music — The  Mercury  at  74° 
and  an  Epidemic  of "  Grippe  " — Fight  Between  a  Bull  and  a  Tiger 
— A  Sorry  Fiasco— Carnival  Sunday. 

January  7th. 

MY  third  Sunday  in  Manila  is  a  cool  breezy  day, 
with  fresh  winds  blowing  down  from  the  mountains. 
The  weather  has  lately  been  as  temperate  as  one 
could  wish,  and  has  corresponded  to  some  of  our  soft 
spring  conditions.  From  noon  until  three  o'clock 
has  usually  seemed  warm,  but  the  mornings  have 
made  walking  pleasant,  the  afternoons  have  given  op- 
portunities for  tennis,  and  the  evenings  have  hinted 
that  an  overcoat  would  not  be  amiss.  One  could 
hardly  ask  for  any  more  comfortable  place  to  live  in 
than  Manila  as  it  stands  to-day,  and  although  sani- 
tary appliances  are  most  primitive,  the  city  seems  to 
be  healthy  and  without  noisome  pestilence. 

During  the  holiday  season,  just  over,  foreign  busi- 
ness has  been  suspended  and  everyone  socially  in- 
clined. Shopping  has  been  in  vogue,  and  on  one  of 

22 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  23 

my  expeditions  for  photographic  materials  I  was  in- 
troduced to  the  "  Botica  Inglesa,"  or  English  chem- 
ist's shop,  which  seems  to  be  the  largest  variety-store 
in  town.  Here  it  is  possible  to  buy  anything  from  a 
glass  of  soda  to  a  full-fledged  lawn-mower,  including 
all  the  intermediates  that  reach  from  tooth-brushes 
to  photographic  cameras. 

And  speaking  of  shopping  brings  me  to  the  "  chit " 
system,  which  has  been  such  a  curse  to  the  Far  East. 
In  making  purchases,  no  one  pays  cash  for  anything, 
since  the  heavy  Mexican  dollars — which  are  the  only 
currency  of  the  islands — are  too  heavy  to  lug  around 
in  the  thin  suits  made  of  white  sheeting.  One  simply 
signs  an  "  I.  O.  U."  for  the  amount  of  the  bill  in  any 
shop  that  he  may  choose  to  patronize,  and  thinks  no 
more  about  it  till  at  the  end  of  the  month  all  the 
"chits"  which  bear  his  name  are  sent  around  for 
collection. 

Result:  one  never  feels  as  if  he  were  spending 
anything  until  the  first  day  of  the  incoming  month 
ushers  in  a  host  of  these  big  or  little  reminders.  If 
your  chits  at  one  single  shop  run  into  large  amounts, 
the  collector  generally  brings  along  with  him  a  coolie 
or  a  wheelbarrow  with  which  to  lug  away  the  weight 
of  dollars  that  you  pour  into  his  hands,  and  when 
two  or  three  collectors  come  in  together  the  office 
reminds  one  of  a  money-'changer's.  Counterfeit 


24  YESTERDAYS  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

money  is  so  prevalent  that  one  after  the  other  of 
your  callers  bites  the  silver  or  drops  it  on  the  floor 
to  detect  lead,  and  to  listen  to  the  resulting  sound  is 
not  to  feel  complimented  by  their  opinion  of  your 
integrity.  So  it  goes,  many  of  the  shop-keepers 
being  swindled  out  of  their  dues  by  debtors  who 
choose  to  skip  off  rather  than  to  pay,  and  waking  up 
at  the  end  of  the  month  to  find  their  supposed  profits 
existing  only  in  the  chits  whose  signers  have  skedad- 
dled to  Hong  Kong  or  Singapore. 

New  Year's  Eve  was  celebrated  with  due  hilarity 
and  elaborate  provisions.  The  club  bill  of  fare  was 
remarkable,  and  when  it  is  realized  there  are  no  stoves 
in  Manila,  the  wonder  is  that  the  cooking  is  so  com- 
plex. A  Manila  stove  is  no  more  nor  less  than  a 
good-sized  earthen  jar,  shaped  something  like  an  old 
shoe.  The  vamp  of  the  shoe  represents  the  hearth ; 
the  opening  in  front,  the  place  for  putting  in  the 
small  sticks  of  wood ;  and  the  enclosing  upper,  the 
rim  on  which  rests  the  single  big  pot  or  kettle.  In 
a  well-regulated  kitchen,  there  may  be  a  dozen  of 
these  stoves,  one  for  each  course,  and  their  cost  being 
only  a  peseta,  it  is  a  simple  matter  to  keep  a  few 
extra  ones  on  hand  in  the  bread-closet.  And  so,  as 
one  goes  through  the  streets  where  native  huts  pre- 
dominate, he  sees  a  family  meal  being  cooked  in  sec- 
tions, and  is  forced  to  admire  the  complexity  of  the 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  25 

greasy  dishes  that  are  evolved  from  so  simple  a  con- 
trivance. 

As  the  Manila  cooking  arrangements  are  rude,  so 
I  suspect  are  the  pantry's  dish- washing  opportunities. 
I  really  should  hesitate  to  enter  even  our  club-kitchen, 
for. certain  dim  suggestions  which  are  conveyed  to  the 
senses  from  spoons  and  forks,  and  certain  plate  sur- 
faces that  would  calm  troubled  waters  if  hung  from  a 
ship's  side,  all  hint  at  unappetizing  sights.  All  in 
all,  the  less  one  sees  of  native  cooking,  in  transitu,  the 
greater  will  one's  appetite  be. 

I  had  expected  an  early  introduction  to  earth- 
quakes, but  none  have  occurred  so  far,  and  I  am 
almost  tempted  to  get  reckless.  Soon  after  my  arrival 
I  was  inclined  to  put  my  chemical  bottles  in  a  box  of 
sawdust,  empty  part  of  the  water  out  of  my  pitcher, 
and  pack  my  watch  in  cotton- wool  in  anticipation  of 
some  nocturnal  disturbance.  For  the  old  stagers  who 
saw  the  city  fall  to  pieces  back  in  the  '80's  deem  it 
their  duty  to  alarm  the  new  arrival,  and  almost  turn 
pale  when  a  heavy  dray  rolls  by  over  the  cobblestones 
in  the  street  near  the  club,  or  make  ready  to  fly  out- 
of-doors  at  the  first  suspicion  of  vibration. 

A  word  or  two  more  about  the  floors  in  Manila 
houses.  I  don't  suppose  there  is  a  soft-wood  tree  in 
the  islands,  and  as  a  result  one  sees  some  very  inter- 
esting hard- wood  productions.  The  floors  come  under 


26  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE   PHILIPPINES 

this  category.  Bough-hewn  as  they  are — out  of  huge 
hand-sawed  hard- wood  planks — they  are  models.  By 
certain  processes  of  polishing  with  banana  leaves  and 
greasy  rags,  they  are  made  to  shine  like  genius  itself, 
and  give  such  a  clean,  cool  air  to  the  houses  that  one 
is  compelled  to  regard  them  with  admiration.  In  fact, 
there  is  a  certain  charm  in  Manila  about  many  speci- 
mens of  hand-work  that  one  encounters  everywhere. 
The  stilted  regularities — as  our  good  professor  used 
to  say — of  machine-made  articles  are  frequently  con- 
spicuous by  their  absence,  and  instead  one  sees  the 
inequalities,  the  lack  of  exact  repetition,  the  infor- 
mality of  lines  that  are  not  just  perpendicular  or 
horizontal,  all  of  which  make  up  the  charm  of  work 
that  is  handmade,  that  reflects  the  movements  of  a 
living  arm  and  mind  rather  than  those  of  a  wheel  or 
a  lever. 

The  curious  windows  that  are  everywhere  are 
likewise  instructive.  Like  the  blinds,  they  slide  in 
grooves  on  the  railings  of  the  balconies,  and  serve  to 
shut  out  the  weather  from  the  interior.  They  consist 
of  frames  containing  a  multitude  of  small  lattice- 
work squares,  into  which  are  placed  thin,  flat,  trans- 
lucent sea-shells  which  admit  light,  but  are  not  look- 
throughable.  We  have  all  heard  of  shell-roads,  but 
never  of  shell-windows,  and  one  misses  the  presence  of 
glass  until  he  has  got  accustomed  to  a  Manila  house, 


YESTEEDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  27 

whose  sliding  sides  are  one  vast  window  that  is  rarely 
closed. 

Manila  streets,  outside  of  the  city  proper,  are 
smooth,  hard,  and  well  shaded  by  the  arching  bam- 
boos. They  are  already  proving  attractive  to  the  bi- 
cycle, which,  though  very  expensive  out  here  at  the 
antipodes,  is  growing  in  favor,  especially  among  the 
wealthier  half-castes,  or  mestizos. 

Tram-car  service  is  slow,  but  pretty  generally  good. 
The  car  is  a  thing  by  itself,  as  is  the  one  lean  pony 
that  pulls  it.  It  takes  one  man  to  drive  and  one  to 
work  the  whip,  and  if  the  wind  blows  too  hard,  ser- 
vice is  generally  suspended.  The  conductor  carries 
a  small  valise  suspended  from  his  neck,  and  whistles 
through  his  lips  " up-hill "  to  stop,  and  "  down-hill" 
as  the  starting-sign.  The  usual  notice,  "  Smoking  al- 
lowed on  the  three  rear  seats  only,"  is  absent,  for 
everyone  smokes,  even  to  the  conductor,  who  gener- 
ally drops  the  ash  off  a  15-for-a-cent  cigarette  into 
your  lap  as  he  hands  you  a  receipt  for  your  dos 
centavos.  The  chief  rule  of  the  road  says : 

"  This  car  has  seats  for  twelve  persons,  and  places 
for  eight  on  each  platform.  Passengers  are  requested 
to  stand  in  equal  numbers  only  on  both  platforms,  to 
prevent  derailment." 

And  so  if  there  are  four  "  fares  "  on  the  front  and 
six  on  the  back  platform,  somebody  has  to  stumble 


28  YESTERDAYS   IN   THE  PHILIPPINES 

forward  to  equalize  the  weight.  No  one  is  allowed 
to  stand  inside,  and  if  the  car  contains  its  quota  of 
passengers,  the  driver  hangs  out  the  sign,  "  Lleno  " 
(full),  and  doesn't  stop  even  for  the  Archbishop.  It 
is  just  as  well,  perhaps,  to  sit  at  the  front  end  of 
the  car  if  you  are  afraid  of  smallpox,  for  the  other 
morning  a  Philippine  mamma  brushed  into  a  seat 
holding  a  scantily  clothed  babe  well  covered  with 
evidences  of  that  disease.  One  sympathizes  with  the 
single  pony  that  does  the  pulling  as  he  sees  thirty 
people  besides  the  car  in  his  load,  and  it  is  no  un- 
common thing  on  a  slight  rise  or  sharp  turn  for  all 
hands  to  get  off  and  help  the  vehicle  over  the  diffi- 
culty. The  driver  holds  the  whip  by  the  wrong  end 
and  lets  the  heavy  one  come  down  with  double  force 
on  the  terribly  tough  hide  of  the  motive  power. 
Aside  from  tram-cars  some  of  these  little  beasts, 
however,  are  possessed  of  great  speed,  and  with  a 
reckless  cochero  in  charge,  it  is  no  uncommon  sight 
to  see  three  or  four  turnouts  come  tearing  down  the 
street  abreast,  full  tilt,  clearing  the  road,  killing  dogs 
and  roosters,  and  making  one's  hair  stand  on  end. 

Speaking  of  roosters,  they  are  the  native  dog  in 
the  Philippines.  The  inhabitants  pet  and  coddle 
them,  smooth  down  their  plumage,  clean  their  combs, 
or  pull  out  their  tail-feathers  to  make  them  fight,  to 
theij;  heart's  content,  and  it  is  a  fact  that  these  cack- 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  29 

ling  glass-eaters  really  seem  to  show  affection  for 
their  proprietors,  in  as  great  measure  as  they  ex- 
hibit hatred  for  their  brothers.  Every  native  has  his 
fighting-cock,  which  is  reared  with  the  greatest  care 
until  he  has  shown  sufficient  prowess  to  entitle  him 
to  an  entrance  into  the  cock-pit.  In  case  of  fire,  the 
rooster  is  the  first  thing  rescued  and  removed  to  a 
place  of  safety,  for  babies — common  luxuries  in  the 
Philippines — are  a  secondary  consideration  and  more 
easily  duplicated  than  the  feathered  biped.  It  is  al- 
most impossible  to  walk  along  any  street  in  the 
suburban  part  of  the  town  without  seeing  dozens  of 
natives  trudging  along  with  roosters  under  their  arms, 
which  are  being  talked  to  and  petted  to  distraction. 
At  every  other  little  roadside  hut,  an  impromptu  battle 
will  be  going  on  between  two  birds  of  equal  or  unequal 
merit,  the  two  proprietors  holding  their  respective 
roosters  by  the  tails  in  order  that  they  may  not  come 
into  too  close  quarters.  The  cock-pits,  where  gath- 
erings are  held  on  Thursdays  and  Sundays,  are  large 
enclosures  covered  with  a  roof  of  thatch  sewed  on- 
to a  framework  of  bamboo ;  they  are  open  on  all  sides, 
and  banked  up  with  tiers  of  rude  seats  that  surround 
a  sawdust  ring  in  the  centre.  Outside  the  gates  to 
the  flimsy  structure  sit  a  motley  crowd  of  women, 
young  and  old,  selling  eatables  whose  dark,  greasy 
texture  beggars  description,  while  here  and  there  in 


30  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

the  open  spaces  a  couple  of  natives  will  be  giving 
their  respective  roosters  a  sort  of  preliminary  trial 
with  each  other.  As  the  show  goes  on  inside,  shouts 
and  applause  resound  at  every  opportunity,  and  at 
the  close  of  the  performance  a  multitude  of  two- 
wheeled  gigs  carry  off  the  victors  with  their  spoils, 
while  the  losers  trudge  home  through  the  dust  on 
foot. 

Other  familiar  street-scenes  consist  of  Chinese 
barbers,  who  carry  around  a  chair,  a  pair  of  scissors, 
and  a  razor  wherever  they  go,  and  stop  to  give  you 
a  shave  or  hair-cut  at  any  part  of  the  block;  or 
Chinese  ear-cleaners,  who  scoop  out  of  those  organs 
some  of  the  unprintable  epithets  hurled  by  one  native 
at  another.  Cascades  of  slops  not  uncommonly  de- 
scend into  the  street  as  one  walks  along  beneath  a 
slightly  overhanging  second  story  of  some  of  the 
houses,  and  one  is  impressed,  if  not  wet,  by  this  favor- 
ite method  of  laying  the  street-dust. 

Besides  the  daily  afternoon  music  on  the  Luneta,  a 
full-fledged  Italian  opera  troupe  has  come  to  town 
and  has  begun  to  give  performances  in  the  Teatro 
Zorilla.  "  Carmen  "  and  "  The  Cavalleria  Eusticana  " 
are  on  the  bill  for  this  week,  and  many  other  of  the 
old  standbys  are  going  to  have  their  turn  later. 

In  respect  to  music,  sidetracked  though  it  is,  Ma- 
nila seems  to  be  more  favored  than  her  sister  capitals 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  31 

in  the  Far  East,  and  everyone  appears  to  be  able  to 
play  on  something.  Such  of  the  native  houses  as  are 
too  frail  to  support  pianos  shelter  harps,  violins,  and 
other  stringed  instruments,  while  some  of  the  more 
expensive  structures  contain  the  whole  selection. 
Of  an  evening — in  the  suburbs — it  is  no  uncommon 
thing  to  hear  the  strains  of  a  well-played  Spanish 
march  issuing  from  under  the  thatch  of  a  rickety  hut, 
or  to  find  an  impromptu  concert  going  on  in  the  lit- 
tle tram-car  which  is  bringing  home  a  handful  of  native 
youth  with  their  guitars  or  mandolins.  Every  district 
has  its  band,  some  of  the  instruments  in  which  are  of- 
ten made  out  of  empty  kerosene-cans,  and  the  nights 
resound  with  tunes  from  all  quarters.  In  fact,  the 
Philippine  band  is  one  of  the  chief  articles  of  export 
from  Manila,  and  groups  of  natives  with  their  cheap 
instruments  are  shipped  off  to  Japan,  India,  and  the 
Spice  Islands,  to  carry  harmony  into  the  midst  of 
communities  where  music  is  uncultivated.  All  in  all, 
it  is  extremely  curious  that  out  of  all  the  peoples  of 
the  Far  East  the  Filipinos  are  the  only  ones  possess- 
ing a  natural  talent  for  music,  and  that  the  islands 
to-day  stand  out  unique  from  among  all  the  sur- 
rounding territory  as  being  the  home  of  a  musical 
race,  who  do  not  make  the  night  as  hideous  with 
weird  beatings  of  tom-toms  as  they  do  poetic  with 
soft  waltzes  coaxed  from  gruff  trombones. 


32  YESTERDAYS  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

January  18th. 

Manila  is  pretty  well,  thanks.  The  weather  has 
been  cool  and  comfortable.  Showers  have  come  every 
day  or  two  to  lay  the  dust,  and  one  could  not  want  a 
more  salubrious  condition  of  things.  The  sunsets 
from  the  Luneta  have  been  more  than  pyrotechnic,  and 
I  now  believe  that  nowhere  do  you  see  such  displays 
of  color  as  in  the  Orient,  Land  of  the  Sunrise.  Dur- 
ing these  three  weeks  of  my  stay,  so  far  there  have 
been  five  holidays,  and  we  have  had  ample  time  to 
take  afternoon  walks  up  the  beach,  or  play  tennis  at 
the  club,  or  indulge  in  moonlight  rows  on  the  Pasig. 

A  week  ago  on  the  island  just  opposite  the  club, 
where  lies  a  good-sized  village,  containing  an  old 
church,  there  was  a  religious  festival,  which  lasted  all 
the  week.  This  was  the  Fiesta  of  Pandacan,  and  all 
the  natives  for  miles  around  came  pouring  down  by 
our  veranda,  in  bancas  and  barges,  on  their  way 
across  the  river.  Every  night  during  the  week,  bands 
of  music  played  on  one  side  of  the  stream  and  on  the 
other  side,  and  then  crossed  to  their  respective  oppo- 
sites,  playing  in  transitu,  and  then  setting  up  shop  on 
shore  again.  Then  there  were  fireworks,  bombs,  and 
rockets  galore,  so  that  the  early  night  was  alive  with 
noise  and  sparks.  On  the  evening  of  the  grand  wind- 
up  we  crossed  over  to  see  the  sights,  in  one  of  the 
usual  hollo  wed- out  tree-trunk  ferryboats.  Crowds  of 


f/1 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  33 

gayly  dressed  natives  surged  around  the  plaza,  near 
the  old  church,  while  everywhere  along  the  edges 
squatted  old  men  and  women,  cooking  all  sorts  of 
greasy  "chow"  on  those  peculiar  Philippine  stoves 
described  in  the  last  chapter.  Everybody  smoked, 
as  well  as  the  pots  and  kettles,  and  the  air  was  there- 
fore foggy.  The  little,  low-thatched  houses  were 
jauntily  decorated  with  lanterns  and  streamers,  and 
at  all  the  open  fronts  leaned  out  rows  of  grinning 
natives. 

Here  and  there  were  small  "tiendas"  or  little 
booths,  where  cheap  American  toys,  collar-buttons, 
pictures,  and  little  figures  of  the  Saviour  were  sold, 
and  great  was  the  hubbub.  The  houses,  as  well  as 
the  people,  are  very  low  of  stature,  and  as  we  walked 
along  the  narrow,  almost  cunning  streets,  our  shoul- 
ders level  with  the  eaves  of  many  of  the  shanties,  and 
above  the  heads  of  many  of  the  people,  we  felt  indeed 
like  giants.  Many  were  the  pianos  in  those  native 
huts,  and  peculiar  mixtures  of  strikingly  decent  play- 
ing fell  upon  the  ear  from  all  sides. 

The  whole  circus  wound  up  with  a  grand  pyrotech- 
nical  illumination  of  the  old  church  from  base  to 
tower,  and  a  score  of  loud  explosions,  caused  by  the 
setting  off  of  many  dozen  bombs  at  the  same  time, 
made  up  in  noise  what  the  religious  celebration 

lacked  in  spirituality.     Then  all  the  bands  came  back 
3 


34  YESTERDAYS  IN  THE   PHILIPPINES 

and  played  their  lungs  out  as  they  crossed  the  river, 
and  all  the  people  rushed  for  bancas,  and  came  chat- 
tering home.  Thus  did  this  pretty  little  religious 
show  consume,  in  noise  and  sparks,  the  contributions 
of  a  very  long  time. 

The  grand  opera  company  which  is  here  is  doing 
remarkably  well,  and  "Faust"  was  given  the  other 
evening  to  a  crowded  house.  The  theatre  Zorilla  is 
round,  like  a  circus,  and  in  the  centre  of  the  ring  sit 
the  holders  of  our  regular  orchestra  seats,  facing  the 
stage,  which  chops  off  the  segment  of  the  circle 
opposite  the  main  entrance.  In  a  rim  surrounding 
the  central  arena  stretches  the  single  row  of  boxes,  a 
good  deal  like  small  open  sheep-pens,  separated 
from  each  other  only  by  insignificant  railings.  Next 
comes  the  surrounding  aisle,  and  in  the  broad  outside 
section  of  the  circle,  rising  up  in  steep  tiers,  are  the 
seats  for  the  natives  and  gallery  gods,  who  invariably 
bring  their  lunch  with  them,  to  pass  away  the  time 
during  the  long  intermissions.  The  orchestra  is  a 
native  one,  led  by  an  Italian  conductor,  and  doesn't 
tuck  its  shirt  into  its  trousers.  The  musicians,  who 
battle  with  the  difficult  score,  grind  out  their  music 
quite  as  successfully  as  some  of  our  home  performers, 
who  would  scorn  the  dark  faces  and  flying  shirt-tails 
of  their  Philippine  brethren. 

During  the  performance  the  management  intro- 


YESTERDAYS  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  35 

duced  a  ballet,  whose  members  were  native  Filipinas. 
It  was  too  laughable.  The  faces  and  arms  of  the 
women  who  formed  the  corps  seemed  first  to  have 
been  covered  with  mucilage,  and  then  besprinkled 
with  flour  in  order  to  bring  the  dark-brown  complex- 
ion up  to  the  softer  half-tints  of  the  Italian  perform- 
ers. The  native  lady,  as  a  rule,  is  unacquainted  with 
French  shoes  or  high  heels,  slippers  being  the 
every-day  equipment,  and  when  these  flowery  beings 
came  forward  on  to  the  stage,  saw  the  huge  audience, 
and  tried  to  go  through  the  mazes  of  the  dance  in 
European  footgear,  they  felt  entirely  snarled  up,  even 
if  they  didn't  look  more  than  half  so.  But  this  only 
served  to  keep  the  audience  in  a  good  humor,  and 
everybody  seemed  to  enjoy  both  the  singing  and  the 
deviltry  of  Mephistopheles,  whose  part  was  well 
taken.  The  waits  between  the  acts  were  long,  and 
the  drop-curtain  was  covered  with  barefaced  adver- 
tisements of  dealers  in  pills,  hats,  and  carriages.  But 
there  were  cool  little  cafes  across  the  roadway  run- 
ning by  the  theatre,  and  one  forgot  the  delay  in  the 
pleasure  of  being  refreshed  by  Spanish  chocolate  and 
crisp  bunuelos. 

In  front  of  the  main  entrance  to  the  theatre  stood 
two  firemen,  with  hose  in  hand,  ready  to  play  on 
anything  as  soon  as  the  orchestra  stopped  or  a  lamp 
fell,  but  otherwise  nothing  was  particularly  strange. 


36  YESTEEDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

The  whole  structure  was  oil-lighted  with  rickety 
chandeliers,  which  shed  a  dangerous  though  brilliant 
glare  down  upon  a  large  audience  of  most  exquisite- 
ly dressed  Spanish  people,  mestizos  and  foreigners. 
Pretty  little  flower-girls  wandered  about  trying  to 
dispose  of  their  wares  to  the  rather  over-dressed 
dudes  of  the  upper  half-caste  400,  and  their  mammas 
often  followed  them  around  to  assist  in  making  sales. 
If  it  begins  to  rain  in  the  afternoon,  before  the  per- 
formance, everybody  understands  that  the  show  is 
to  be  postponed,  provided  clearing  conditions  do  not 
follow,  and  those  who  hold  tickets  are,  as  a  rule, 
grateful  not  to  be  obliged  to  risk  their  horses  and 
their  starched  clothes  to  the  treatment  of  a  possible 
downpour. 

The  Luneta  is  still  a  close  rival  to  the  opera,  and 
each  afternoon  a  dozen  of  us  will  generally  meet  there 
to  refresh  ourselves  with  the  music  and  the  passing 
show.  Toward  sundown,  in  the  afternoons,  of  late, 
the  big  guns  in  the  batteries  up  along  the  walls  of 
Old  Manila,  hard  by,  have  been  used  in  long-dis- 
tance sea  target-practice,  and  it  has  been  interesting, 
on  the  way  from  the  office  to  the  promenade,  to  walk 
along  the  beach  and  see  the  cannon-balls  zip  over  the 
water  and  slump  into  it  miles  from  their  destination. 
The  same  target  serves  every  afternoon,  and  seems 
perfectly  safe  from  being  hit.  I  wish  I  could  say  as 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  37 

much  for  the  fleet  of  American  ships  that  are  lying 
off  the  breakwater,  at  the  anchorage. 

February  8th. 

It  seems  peculiar  to  see  the  moon  standing  directly 
overhead  o'nights,  and  casting  a  shadow  of  one's  self 
that  is  without  meaning.  I  never  yet  realized  we  had 
so  little  shape  before,  looking  from  above,  as  when  I 
saw  this  new  species  of  shadow  the  other  night,  and 
was  really  sorry  that  the  angels  never  had  a  chance 
to  look  at  us  from  a  better  point  of  view. 

To  be  politic,  and  begin  with  the  weather  as  usual, 
a  cold  snap  lately  has  given  everyone  the  "  grippe." 
The  mercury  actually  stood  at  74°  all  one  day,  and 
couldn't  be  coaxed  to  go  higher.  Think  of  the  suffer- 
ing that  such  low  temperature  would  occasion  among 
a  people  who  have  no  furnaces  or  open  fireplaces. 
You  may  think  I  am  facetious,  but  74°  in  the  Phil- 
ippines means  a  great  deal  to  people  who  are  always 
accustomed  to  95°. 

The  opera -talk  continues,  and  "Fra  Diavolo" 
was  most  successfully  performed  to  a  crowded  house 
the  other  evening.  "  The  Barber  of  Seville  "  was  given 
Sunday  night  with  equal  eclat,  and  the  prima  donna 
was  a  star  of  the  first  water,  whose  merits  were  rec- 
ognized in  the  presentation  of  some  huge  flower- 
pieces,  probably  paid  for  by  herself.  But  the  opera 


38  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

has  had  a  rival,  and  those  who  are  not  so  musically 
inclined  have  spent  most  of  their  spare  moments  in 
discussing  the  great  bull  and  tiger  fight  which  took 
place  Sunday  afternoon. 

It  was  a  queer  show,  and  not  altogether  edifying. 
The  old  bull-ring,  squatting  out  in  the  rice-fields  of 
Ermita  suburb,  was  to  be  used  for  the  last  time,  and 
the  occasion  was  to  be  of  unusual  interest,  since  the 
flaming  posters  announced,  in  grown-up  letters  : 


STRUGGLE   BETWEEN  WILD  BEASTS. 


GBAND  FIGHT  TO  THE  DEATH  BETWEEN  FUUI-BLOODED 

SPANISH    BTOL,  AND   ROYAL    BENGAL  TIGEE, 

DIRECT  FBOM  THE  JUNGIIES  OF  INDIA. 


For  days  before  the  show  came  off,  conversation  in 
the  cafes  along  the  Escolta  invariably  turned  to  the 
subject  of  the  coming  exhibition,  and  it  was  evident 
that  the  managers  fully  intended  both  to  reap  a  large 
harvest  of  heavy  dollars  and  to  wind  up  the  career  of 
the  bull-ring  association  in  a  blaze  of  blood  and  glory. 

The  steaming  Sunday  afternoon  found  everybody 
directing  his  steps  toward  the  wooden  structure  which 
consisted  of  a  lot  of  rickety  seats  piled  up  around  a 
circular  arena.  The  reserved  sections  were  covered 
with  a  light  roof,  to  keep  off  the  afternoon  sun,  but 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  39 

the  bleaching-boards  for  those  that  held  only  "bil- 
letes  de  sol "  were  exposed  to  the  blinding  glare.  The 
audience,  a  crowd  of  three  thousand  persons,  with 
dark  faces  showing  above  suits  of  white  sheeting, 
found  the  centre  of  the  ring  ornamented  with  a  huge 
iron  cage  some  two  rods  square,  while  off  at  the  sides 
were  smaller  cages  containing  the  "fieras"  or  wild 
beasts. 

The  show  opened  amid  breathless  excitement,  with 
an  exhibition  of  panthers,  and  a  man  dressed  in  pink 
tights  ate  dinner  in  the  big  cage,  after  setting  off  a 
bunch  of  firecrackers  under  one  of  the  "fieras,"  who 
didn't  seem  inclined  to  wake  up  enough  to  lick  his 
chops  and  make-believe  masticate  somebody.  The 
daring  performer  lived  to  digest  his  glass  of  water, 
with  one  cracker  thrown  in,  and  a  deer  was  next  in- 
troduced into  the  enclosure.  The  panther,  at  com- 
mand of  the  keeper  to  get  to  business,  seemed  unwil- 
ling to  attack  his  gentle  foe,  and  on  continued  hissing 
from  the  big  audience,  the  two  animals  were  at  length 
withdrawn. 

Then  great  shouts  of  "  El  toro !  El  toro  !  "  arose, 
as  off  at  the  small  gate,  at  one  side,  appeared  the 
bull,  calmly  walking  forward,  under  the  guidance  of 
two  natives,  who  didn't  wear  any  shoes.  And  re- 
newed applause  arose,  as  the  small  heavy  cage  con- 
taining the  E.  B.  tiger  was  rolled  up  to  a  sliding- 


40  YESTERDAYS  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

door  of  the  central  structure.  The  bull  was  shoved 
into  the  iron  jail,  the  gate  closed,  a  dozen  or  more 
bunches  of  firecrackers  were  set  off  in  the  small  box 
holding  the  tiger,  in  order  to  waken  him  up,  the 
slide  connecting  the  two  was  withdrawn,  and,  with  a 
deafening  roar,  the  great  Indian  cat  rushed  forth  and 
tried  to  swallow  a  man  who  was  standing  outside  the 
bars  waving  a  heated  pitchfork.  The  bull  stood 
quietly  in  one  corner  wagging  his  tail,  and  after 
blinking  his  eyes  once  or  twice,  proceeded  to  ex- 
amine his  antagonist,  in  a  most  friendly  spirit.  In 
fact,  there  seemed  to  be  no  hard  feeling  at  all  be- 
tween the  two  beasts,  and  the  tiger  only  wanted  to 
get  at  the  gentleman  outside  the  cage,  not  at  the 
bull.  The  audience  howled,  jeered  at  the  tiger,  bet 
on  the  bull,  and  criticised  the  man  with  the  pitch- 
fork as  he  gave  the  tiger  several  hard  pokes  in  the 
ribs.  This  served  to  anger  the  beast  so  that  he 
finally  did  make  a  dive  at  the  bull,  and  promptly 
found  himself  tossed  into  the  air.  But  as  he  came 
down,  he  hung  on  to  the  bull's  nose,  and  dug  his 
claws  into  the  tough  hide.  Curiously  enough,  the 
bull  didn't  seem  to  mind  that  in  the  least,  and  the 
two  stood  perfectly  still  for  some  five  minutes,  locked 
in  close  quarters. 

To  make  a  long  story  short,  there  occurred  four 
or  five   of   these  mild   attacks,    always   incited  by 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  41 

the  man  with  the  pitchfork,  during  which  the  bull 
stepped  on  the  tiger,  making  him  howl  with  pain, 
and  the  latter  badly  bit  the  former  on  the  legs  and 
nose.  After  the  fourth  round,  both  beasts  seemed 
to  be  in  want  of  a  siesta.  It  was  growing  dark,  and 
the  dissatisfied  audience  cried  for  another  bull  and 
another  tiger.  The  first  animal  was  finally  dragged 
away,  after  the  tiger  had  retreated  to  his  cage,  and  a 
fresh  bull  with  more  spirit  was  introduced.  Now, 
however,  the  tiger  was  less  game  than  ever,  and  no 
amount  of  firecrackers  or  pitchforkings  could  induce 
him  to  stir  from  the  small  cage.  He  seemed  far  too 
sensible,  and  literally  appeared  to  be  the  possessor 
of  an  asbestos  skin. 

It  had  now  got  pretty  dark,  and  the  audience  joined 
in  the  pandemonium  of  howls  coming  from  the  vari- 
ous cages.  People  began  to  light  matches  to  see 
their  programmes,  and  the  circus-ring  looked  as  if  it 
were  filled  with  fireflies.  Then  the  programmes 
themselves  were  ignited  for  more  light,  and  cries  of 
"  Give  us  back  our  money,"  "  What's  the  matter  with 
the  tiger?"  and  others  of  a  less  printable  order,  arose. 
Men  jumped  into  the  ring,  but  the  tiger  refused  to 
move  for  anybody.  In  the  hope  of  stirring  things  up, 
a  couple  of  panthers  were  again  hastily  wheeled  up 
and  pushed  into  the  cage,  where  the  bull  was  stand- 
ing with  an  expression  of  wonder  on  his  face.  But 


42  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

the  bull  merely  licked  one  panther  on  the  nose  and 
wagged  his  tail  at  the  other,  while  the  show  was  de- 
clared off  on  account  of  darkness.  Then  everybody 
filed  out  in  disgust,  and  the  man  with  the  tiger, 
panthers,  and  pitchfork  made  arrangements  to  sail 
for  foreign  shores  by  the  first  steamer.  Such  was 
the  last  performance  in  the  Plaza  de  Toros  de  Ma- 
nila. 

It  was  a  pleasant  contrast  after  the  fight  to  ad- 
journ to  the  Luneta.  The  day  was  Carnival  Sunday, 
and  all  the  young  children  of  the  community  were 
rigged  up  in  many  sorts  of  inconceivable  gowns. 
Clowns  and  ballet-dancers,  devils  and  angels,  all 
wandered  up  and  down  the  smooth  walk,  and  the 
crowd  was  immense.  Numbers  of  the  older  people 
also  took  part,  and  many  of  the  smart  traps  were 
occupied  with  grotesque  figures.  The  artillery-band 
rendered  some  of  its  finest  selections.  The  ships  off 
in  the  bay  were  almost  completely  reflected  in  the 
calm  water.  The  mountains  rose  blue,  like  velvet, 
in  the  distance,  and  a  red  glow  in  the  Boca  Chica 
told  where  the  sun  had  gone  down  for  us,  only  to 
rise  on  the  distant  snows  of  New  England. 


ra 

A  Philippine  Valet — The  Three  Days  Chinese  New  Year — Marionettes 
and  Minstrels  at  Manila — Yankee  Skippers — Furnishing  a  Bunga- 
low— Rats,  Lizards,  and  Mosquitoes — A  New  Arrival — Pony- 
Races  in  Santa  Mesa — Cigars  and  Cheroots — Servants — Cool 
Mountain  Breezes — House-snakes — Cost  of  Living — Holy  Week. 

February  16th. 

NEWS  to  begin  with.  I  have  engaged  a  Philippine 
valet,  price  $4.50  per  month ;  a  man  with  a  wife,  two 
children,  and  a  fighting-cock,  who  buys  all  his  better 
half's  pink  calico  gowns  and  all  the  food  for  the  party 
on  this  large  salary.  It  is  a  wonder  what  revolutions 
have  taken  place  in  my  wardrobe.  My  heavy  clothes, 
already  grown  musty  from  disuse,  have  been  taken 
out,  sun-dried,  and  laid  carefully  away.  I  no  longer 
have  to  decide  what  to  wear  each  morning,  for  it  is 
settled  for  me  beforehand.  Everything  that  my 
"boy"  wishes  me  to  don  is  laid  out  on  a  chair  during 
my  early  pilgrimage  to  the  bath,  and  all  that  is  neces- 
sary to  do  on  my  return  is  to  get  into  them.  It  is  quite 
a  luxury,  and  I  shall  certainly  be  inclined  to  bring 
this  cheap  gentleman  back  with  me  when  I  return  to 
Boston.  My  neckties,  which  have  hitherto  snarled 

themselves  up  in  the  corner  of  a  drawer,  now  are 

48 


44:  YESTEEDATS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

hanging  from  a  neat  clothes-line,  side  by  side.  My 
books  and  papers  on  the  centre  table  are  arranged 
with  unnatural  formality,  and  the  smaller  articles, 
such  as  lead-pencils,  buttons,  pin-cushions,  are  all 
adjusted  in  definite  geometrical  formation.  At  break- 
fast and  dinner  in  the  club-house  I  no  longer  have 
to  whistle  to  be  waited  on,  for  my  slave  is  always  be- 
hind the  chair,  ready  to  spill  the  soup  on  my  coat  or 
pass  the  plum-pudding.  These  serving-boys  all  be- 
long to  the  Tagalog  race,  which  seems  to  include  in 
its  numbers  most  of  the  native  inhabitants  in  Manila 
and  the  adjacent  towns.  They  all  have  straight,  thick 
black  hair,  speak  their  peculiar  Tagalog  language,  and 
only  pick  up  enough  Spanish  to  carry  them  through 
the  performance  of  their  simple  duties. 

And  still  the  holidays,  more  or  less,  continue. 
About  this  time  of  year  there  is  one  a  week,  and  just 
now  the  Chinese  New  Year  occupies  about  three 
days.  The  business  part  of  the  town  is  quiet.  All 
the  Chinese  merchants  have  driven  off  on  a  pic- 
nic, and  it  is  impossible  to  hire  carriages  of  any  sort. 

Manila,  on  the  whole,  is  waking  up,  and  besides 
the  opera  we  now  have  the  marionette  troupe,  some- 
thing entirely  new  to  the  average  citizen.  It  seems 
there  are  four  sisters  travelling  around  the  world  with 
their  little  collection  of  string-pulled  puppets,  giving 
exhibitions  in  all  the  larger  centres.  Their  fame  had 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHIUPPINES  45 

preceded  them,  and  so  the  other  night  when  the 
doors  of  the  Teatro  Filipino  were  thrown  open, 
a  huge  crowd  assembled  to  see  the  performance. 
The  stage  was  a  fairly  large  one,  but  so  arranged 
optically  that  it  made  the  figures  appear  larger 
than  they  really  were.  The  actors  (puppets)  were 
remarkable  for  their  lifelikeness,  and  if  one  had 
not  seen  the  strings  stretching  upward  he  would 
have  taken  them  to  be  animate  beings.  Their 
costumes  were  complete  and  elaborate  in  every 
particular.  First  came  a  tight-rope  walker,  then 
an  acrobat  balancing  a  pair  of  chairs,  and  then 
Old  Mother  Hubbard,  out  of  whose  voluminous  pet- 
ticoats jumped  half  a  dozen  little  men  and  women, 
all  of  whom  danced  and  cut  up  as  if  they  were  really 
reasoning  bipeds  instead  of  material,  loose -jointed, 
wax-faced  dolls.  Old  Mamma  was  especially  good,  and 
as  she  stirred  up  her  little  children  with  a  long  staff, 
looked  at  first  this  one  and  then  that,  shook  her  head, 
pointed  her  finger,  and  danced  with  the  others,  she 
brought  down  the  house  with  applause. 

Later  on  came  a  minstrel  troupe,  with  two  end-men, 
a  leader  who  waved  a  baton,  a  harpist,  and  two  other 
musicians.  They  all  played,  and  the  end-men  cracked 
jokes.  Next  came  a  clog-dance  between  two  darkies, 
and  it  was  difficult  to  believe  that  they  were  not 
alive.  Further  on  came  a  bulldog,  which  grabbed  a 


46  YESTEKDAYS   IN   THE  PHILIPPINES 

policeman  by  the  nether  breeches  and  pulled  a  huge 
piece  out  of  them  ;  a  bull,  who  chased  a  farmer  and 
threw  him  over  a  rail  fence  (this  took  wonderfully 
well,  for  the  Spaniards  go  crazy  over  anything  with  a 
bull  in  it) ;  then  a  boarding-house  scene,  with  a  fold- 
ing-bed that  shut  up  its  occupants  inside;  next,  a 
balloon  ascension,  in  which  a  man  on  the  ground  was 
suddenly  caught  up  into  the  air  by  an  anchor  thrown 
out  from  the  balloon;  then  the  death  of  the  two 
aeronauts,  who  fall  from  a  dizzy  height ;  next,  a  ride 
in  a  donkey-cart  by  two  lovers,  who  find  themselves 
run  away  with  and  get  snarled  up  on  the  wagon,  to  be 
kicked  black  and  blue  by  the  donkey.  Finally  came 
a  very  complete  little  play  of  "  Bluebeard,"  with  com- 
plete scenery,  costumes,  and  ballet.  All  of  the  scen- 
ery was  of  the  lightning-change  sort,  and  the  Span- 
iards, mestizos,  and  natives  in  the  audience  sat  and 
looked  on  with  open-mouthed  wonder,  too  aston- 
ished to  laugh,  too  senseless  to  cry,  and  able  but  to 
clothe  their  faces  with  expressions  of  wonder. 

To  change  the  subject  rather  abruptly,  the  captain 
of  the  Esmeralda,  the  little  steamer  on  which  I  came 
from  Hong  Kong,  has  been  good  enough  to  ask  me 
on  board  his  vessel  to  tiffin  as  often  as  she  comes 
into  port.  As  Captain  Tayler's  table  is  noted  both 
for  its  excellence  and  profusion,  the  very  few  of  us 
who  comprise  the  American  colony  as  well  as  all  the 


bO 

H 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  47 

Englishmen  in  town,  always  covet  an  invitation  to 
spend  Sunday  in  his  company  and  enjoy  various 
dishes  that  are  not  to  be  procured  in  Manila  mar- 
kets. 

Besides  the  several  steamers  that  ply  between 
ports  on  the  neighboring  coast,  there  is  now  a  large 
fleet  of  American  ships  at  anchor  in  the  bay,  and 
our  office,  which  shelters  the  only  American  firm  in 
the  Philippines,  is  a  great  centre  for  the  various 
Yankee,  nasal-twanged  skippers,  who,  dressed  in  hot- 
looking,  ready-made  tweeds,  come  ashore  without 
their  collars  to  ask  questions  about  home  topics  and 
read  newspapers  six  weeks  old.  They  delight  to  en- 
joy the  sea-breezes  generated  by  our  big  punka, 
and  only  leave  the  office  on  matters  of  urgent  neces- 
sity. Several  of  the  captains  have  their  whole  fam- 
ilies with  them,  and  one,  who  is  especially  well-to- 
do,  owns  his  own  ship,  carries  along  a  bright  tutor, 
who  is  preparing  some  of  the  skipper's  sons  for  col- 
lege, and  has  transformed  the  vessel  into  a  veritable 
institution  of  learning.  On  nearly  every  evening 
the  whole  fleet  in  a  body  go  to  some  one  ship,  sing 
songs  and  have  refreshments,  and  the  other  night 
Governor  Robie  was  the  host.  Being  invited  to 
partake  of  the  festivities,  we  two  Yankees  went  off 
into  the  bay  at  about  sunset,  ate  a  regulation  New 
England  dinner,  with  rather  too  much  weight  to  it 


48  YESTEKDAYS   IN   THE  PHILIPPINES 

for  hot  climates,  and  met  all  the  belles  of  the  fleet. 
The  moon  overhead  was  full,  and  with  a  good  piano, 
violin,  hand-organ,  and  a  couple  of  ocarinas,  giving 
vent  to  sweet  sounds,  we  had  an  impromptu  dance 
on  the  quarter-deck.  We  stayed  out  on  the  ship  of 
our  host  and  hostess  all  night.  They  apologized 
because  the  bunks  in  the  state-rooms  assigned  to  us 
were  so  hard,  little  realizing  that  we  couldn't  sleep 
worth  a  continental  on  account  of  their  being  so 
ridiculously  soft  after  our  Philippine  cane  arrange- 
ments. 

Everybody  is  talking  horse  now,  and  business  will 
be  at  a  standstill  during  the  first  few  days  of  the 
coming  month,  when  the  pony  races  take  place  at  the 
suburban  course  in  Santa  Mesa.  As  a  result,  every 
afternoon  that  some  of  us  do  not  go  rowing  or  play 
tennis,  we  adjourn  to  the  race-track,  and,  in  company 
with  groups  of  Spaniards  and  wealthy  mestizos,  watch 
the  smart  ponies  circle  around  the  track. 

And,  speaking  of  the  race-course,  I  have  just  made 
arrangements  with  one  of  my  new  friends  to  take  a 
bungalow  situated  on  a  low  rise  that  backgrounds  the 
track  at  the  quarter-mile  post.  It  stands,  prettily 
shaded  by  bamboo-trees,  on  practically  the  first  bit 
of  upland  that  later  grows  into  the  lofty  mountains 
of  the  interior,  and  the  view  off  over  the  race-course 
and  low-lying  paddy-fields,  squared  off  into  sections, 


YESTERDAYS  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  49 

toward  the  city,  is  most  picturesque.  On  another  side 
we  look  off  over  the  winding  river  toward  the  moun- 
tains, which  hardly  appear  five  miles  away,  and  still 
another  view  is  a  bamboo  grove,  against  which  is 
backed  up  our  little  stable  with  various  outbuildings, 
including  the  kitchen.  A  broad  veranda  runs  entirely 
around  the  main  building,  where  the  living-rooms  are 
located,  and  Venetian  roll-blinds  let  down  from  the 
piazza-roof  keep  off  the  afternoon  sun. 

Yesterday  I  had  my  first  experience  in  making 
extensive  purchases  of  furniture,  and  was  interested 
to  see  about  twelve  coolies  start  off  from  the  city 
toward  our  country  residence,  three  miles  away, 
loaded  down  with  beds,  tables,  chairs,  and  other 
articles.  Four  of  them  started  off  later  on  with  the 
upright  piano  balanced  on  a  couple  of  cross-sticks 
resting  on  their  shoulders,  and  trotted  the  whole  dis- 
tance without  sitting  down  to  play  the  "  Li  Hung 
Chang  March  "  more  than  twice.  These  living  carriers 
rather  take  the  place  of  express  wagons  in  the  East, 
and  a  long  caravan  of  furniture-laden  Celestials,  sol- 
emnly going  along  through  the  highway  at  a  jog- 
trot, is  no  uncommon  sight.  We  shall  need  dishes, 
knives,  pots  and  kettles,  and  a  whole  "World's  Fair 
of  trumpery,  before  we  get  started,  and  I  shall  have  to 
be  busy  with  a  Spanish  dictionary,  in  order  to  get 
familiar  with  the  right  names  for  the  right  things. 


50  TESTEEDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

You  have  asked  me  how  the  mosquitoes  fare  upon 
the  newly  arrived  foreigner.  To  tell  the  truth,  I  have 
not  seen  more  than  half  a  dozen  since  coming  to 
Manila,  and  those  all  sang  in  tune.  Everybody  sleeps 
under  nettings,  of  course,  but  so  far  I  have  not  seen  as 
many  biters  flying  around  at  night  as  there  are  in 
the  United  States  of  America.  To  be  sure,  one  sees 
a  good  many  lizards  hanging  by  the  eye-teeth  to  the 
walls,  or  walking  about  unconcernedly  up-side-down 
on  the  ceilings,  but  they  do  good  missionary  work  by 
devouring  the  host  of  smaller  bugs,  and  it  is  one  of 
our  highest  intellectual  pursuits  here  in  Manila  to 
stretch  out  in  a  long  chair  and  go  to  sleep  gazing 
upward  at  these  enterprising  bug-catchers  pursuing 
their  vocation.  And,  now  and  then,  from  some 
piazza-roof  or  ceiling  will  drop  on  your  face  a  so- 
called  hairy  caterpillar  whose  promenade  on  one's 
epidermis  will  cause  it  to  swell  up  in  great  welts  that 
close  one's  eyes  and  ruffle  the  temper. 

Eats  are  more  numerous  than  mosquitoes,  and  the 
other  day,  on  my  opening  a  drawer  in  some  of  our 
office  furniture,  three  jumped  out.  The  office  was 
transformed  into  an  impromptu  race-course,  and  all 
hands  were  called  to  take  part  in  the  slaughter.  But 
Manila  doors  are  loose-jointed,  and  the  rodents 
escaped  somewhere  into  the  next  room.  Since  then 
I  have  had  the  legs  sawed  off  of  my  desk,  so  that 


YESTERDAYS  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  51 

these  literary  beggars,  who  delight  to  eat  up  one's  val- 
uable papers,  should  not  climb  in  and  make  a  meal  off 
of  my  private  cable  code — a  thing  which  they  started 
to  do  some  time  ago.  They  have  already  several 
times  run  off  with  the  candle  which  was  used  for 
heating  sealing-wax,  and  possess  such  prowess  that 
they  even  took  it  out  of  the  candlestick. 

We  had  a  new  arrival  at  the  club  lately  in  the  per- 
son of  a  young  Englishman  who  came  fresh  from 
Britain.  Someone  had  stuffed  him  with  tales  of  in- 
dolent life  in  the  Far  East,  for  he  came  in  to  his  first 
dinner  at  the  club  clad  only  in  pajamas  and  green 
carpet-bag  slippers.  He  also  thought  that  the  Span- 
ish language  consisted  in  adding  final  a's  to  words  in 
the  English  tongue  and  shouted  all  over  the  club  next 
morning  for  sopa,  sopa,  with  which  to  cleanse  him- 
self. But  the  servant  brought  him  a  plate  of  soup, 
and  he  is  now  trying  to  remember  that  soap  in  Span- 
ish is  translated  by  jabon,  not  sopa.  Jamon,  the 
word  for  ham,  however,  is  close  enough  to  give  him 
trouble  and  he  will  no  doubt  ask  for  soap  instead  of 
ham  at  our  next  repast. 

March  16th. 

The  pony  races  came  off  with  great  eclat  on  the  first 
four  days  of  this  month,  and  were  decidedly  interest- 
ing. All  Manila  turned  out,  and  such  a  collection  of 


52  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

carriages  I  have  never  seen.  All  the  Spanish  ladies 
put  an  extra  coat  of  paint  on  their  complexions,  and, 
dressed  in  their  best  bibs  and  tuckers,  made  some- 
what of  a  ghastly  show  in  the  searching  light  of  early 
afternoon.  The  high,  thatched-roofed  grand  stand 
presented  a  duly  gay  appearance  as  the  bell  rang  for 
the  first  event,  and  the  dried-up  paddy-fields,  far 
and  near,  crackled  with  natives  directing  their  steps 
toward  the  centre  of  attraction. 

In  front  of  the  grand  stand  groups  of  Spaniards, 
Englishmen,  and  sea-captains  formed  centres  for  bet- 
ting, and  off  at  the  sides  were  refreshment-booths  to 
which  everyone  made  pilgrimage  as  often  as  the  ar- 
ticulatory  muscles  were  in  need  of  lubrication. 

Some  of  the  ponies  were  splendid-looking  little 
"  critters  "  and  made  almost  as  fast  time  as  their  larger 
brethren,  the  horses.  During  race-afternoons,  busi- 
ness in  the  city  was  entirely  suspended,  and  everyone 
who  had  a  dollar  took  it  to  the  race-course  to  gain 
other  dollars.  As  the  currency  system  is  all  metal, 
bets  were  paid  in  hard  coin,  and  if  you  happened  to 
buy  a  lucky  ticket  in  that  gambling  machine,  the 
"totalizator,"  you  would  perhaps  have  a  whole  hatful 
of  heavy  silver  cartwheels  shoved  at  you  on  present- 
ing the  winning  pasteboard.  And  it  was  no  uncom- 
mon sight  at  the  close  of  the  races  to  see  some  of 
the  thinly  clad  natives  whom  fortune  had  favored  go 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  53 

trudging  home  across  the  rice-fields,  carrying  a  load 
of  dollars  in  a  straw  hat  or  a  bright  bandana. 

One  by  one  the  vessels  are  dropping  away  from 
their  anchorage  in  the  bay,  and  by  Saturday  our 
Vigilant  will  heave  up  anchor  and  start  on  her  twenty- 
thousand-mile  journey  to  Boston  via  the  Cape,  with 
her  big  cargo  of  hemp.  Thanks  to  our  attentions  to 
the  captains,  they  have  seemed  willing  to  take  home 
for  us  any  amount  of  souvenirs  and  curios,  and  I  have 
sent  along  quite  an  assortment  of  stuffed  bats,  lizards, 
and  snake-skin  canes,  which  I  feel  sure  will  cause 
somebody  to  creep  on  their  arrival. 

Manila's  best  cigar,  made  of  a  special,  selected 
tobacco,  wrapped  in  the  neatest  of  silverfoil  and 
packed  in  rosewood  boxes  tied  with  Spanish  ribbon, 
costs  about  five  cents  and  is  considered  a  rare  deli- 
cacy. One  scarcely  ever  sees  these  cigars,  the  "  In- 
comparables,"  outside  of  the  city  itself,  and  the  brand 
is  so  choice  that  but  few  smokers  are  acquainted  with 
it.  The  foreigner  in  Manila  thinks  he  is  paying  dear 
for  his  weed  at  $20  per  thousand,  and  some  of  our 
professional  smokers  limit  themselves  to  those  favorite 
"Bouquets  "  which  correspond  to  our  "  two-for-a-quar- 
ter"  variety  but  sell  here  for  $1.80  a  hundred.  Below 
these  upper  grades  come  a  various  assortment  of 
cheaper  varieties,  including  the  cheroots,  big  at  one 
end  and  small  at  the  other,  and  the  $3-a-thousand 


54  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

cigars  which  are  made  of  the  first  thing  that  comes 
handy,  to  be  sold  to  the  crews  of  deep-water  mer- 
chantmen. A  native  of  the  Philippines  wants  his 
cigarette,  and  gets  it.  Packages  of  thirty  are  sold 
on  almost  every  corner  for  a  couple  of  coppers,  and  to 
my  mind  the  Manila  cigarette  is  far  superior  to  the 
variety  found  in  Cuba.  Smoking  is,  of  course,  en- 
couraged by  prices  such  as  these,  and  one  finds  it 
perfectly  good  form  to  borrow  a  cigarette,  as  well  as 
a  light,  from  his  neighbor  in  the  tram-car  or  on  the 
plaza.  Even  on  the  toll-bridge  which  spans  the  Pasig 
you  pay  your  copper  for  crossing,  and  get  in  change 
a  box  of  matches  ;  and  if  you  are  queer  enough  not 
to  want  the  matches,  the  man  will  give  you  instead  a 
ticket  that  avails  for  the  return  trip. 

Sunday  I  left  my  room  at  the  club  and  moved  into 
our  new  house  out  in  the  suburb  of  Santa  Mesa.  It 
is  just  a  week  now  since  the  Chinese  cook  came  and 
began  to  christen  the  pots  and  saucepans,  whose 
Spanish  names  I  shall  never  get  to  remember.  He 
began  by  rendering  me  a  small  account  of  the 
"extras"  provided  for  our  table,  and  I  was  floored 
the  first  thing  on  an  item  of  five  cents  put  down  as 
"  Hongos."  I  asked  him  what  that  was.  He  spluttered 
around  in  Spanish  and  looked  about  the  room  to 
see  if  he  couldn't  find  a  few  growing  in  one  of  our 
pictures  of  still  life  on  the  walls.  At  length,  being 


o    o 


r;     TO 

2  as 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE   PHILIPPINES  55 

struck  with  an  inspiration,  he  seized  a  small  fan,  ex- 
citedly stuck  it  into  one  of  our  flower-pots,  balanced 
on  top  of  it  an  inverted  ash-tray,  and  danced  around, 
pointing  first  to  the  item  on  the  bill  and  then  to  the 
peculiar  growth  in  the  flower-pot.  I  confess  I  didn't 
follow  his  reasoning,  till  suddenly  it  struck  me  that 
for  our  first  dinner  in  the  new  house  we  had  partaken 
of  mushrooms.  Not  far  off  from  an  ash-tray  balanced 
on  a  Japanese  fan  growing  out  of  a  flower-pot — are 
they  ?  The  style  of  decoration  in  our  house  is  espe- 
cially Japanese,  and,  needless  to  say,  artistic,  since 
there  are  large  Japanese  and  Indian  shops  in  Manila, 
where  one  can  get  all  sorts  of  gimcracks  at  low  prices. 
Our  servants  number  seven,  a  small  quota  for  two  of 
us.  Although  their  wages  are  small,  amounting,  as  a 
rule,  to  $4  apiece  per  month,  yet  it  is  necessary  to 
have  plenty  of  them,  in  order  that  a  certain  few  shall 
be  awake  when  wanted. 

The  fresh  breeze,  which  in  the  evenings  and  early 
mornings  blows  down  direct  from  the  lofty  mountains, 
is  so  cool  that  often  several  blankets  have  been  neces- 
sary in  the  sleeping  contrivance.  Mosquitoes  are  still 
conspicuous  by  their  absence,  but  the  rats  up  in  the 
roof  sound  tremendously  numerous.  All  night  they 
seem  to  be  pulling  boxes  to  and  fro,  taking  up  boards 
and  nailing  them  down,  and  having  a  general  all- 
hands-round  sort  of  a  dance. 


56  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

Nearly  all  of  the  older  bungalows  in  Manila  possess 
what  are  called  house-snakes ;  huge  reptiles  generally 
about  twelve  or  fourteen  feet  long  and  as  thick  as  a 
fire-engine  hose,  that  permanently  reside  up  in  the 
roof  and  live  on  the  rats.  These  big  creatures  are 
harmless,  and  rarely,  if  ever,  leave  their  abodes. 
Judging  from  the  noise  over  my  cloth  ceiling,  a  pair 
of  these  pets  find  pasturage  up  above,  and  I  can  hear 
them  whacking  around  about  once  a  week  in  their 
chase  after  rats.  They  are  good  though  noisy  rat- 
catchers, but  since  they  must  needs  eat  all  they  catch, 
their  efficiency  appears  to  be  limited  to  their  length 
of  stomach,  and  one  night  of  energetic  campaign 
is  generally  followed  by  several  days  of  rest,  during 
which  the  snake  sees  if  he  has  bitten  off  more  than 
he  can  chew.  If  the  Philippine  cats  were  more  noble 
specimens  of  the  quadruped,  I  should  try  to  place 
half  a  dozen  up  in  this  midnight  concert-hall,  but 
they  are  so  feeble  that  I  fear  their  lives  would  be  in 
danger.  It  is  hardly  to  be  wondered  at  that  these 
native  cats  are  modestly  retiring,  when  you  wake  at 
night  to  hear  your  shoes  being  dragged  off  across  the 
floor  by  some  huge  rice-fed  rodent,  and  I  don't  blame 
them  at  all  for  having  right  angles  at  the  end  of  their 
tails. 

The  only  way  to  get  rid  of  the  rats  seems  to  be  to 
buy  more  snakes,  and  this  is  simple  enough,  for  you 


YESTEKDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  67 

often  see  the  natives  hawking  them  around  in  town, 
the  boas  curled  up  around  bamboo  poles,  to  which 
their  heads  are  tied. 

Some  of  our  other  domestic  pets  are  lizards,  sup- 
posed to  be  about  four  feet  long,  who  sing  every  even- 
ing at  8.30  P.M.,  from  somewhere  off  down  in  the 
shrubbery ;  several  roving  turkeys  and  pigs  that  be- 
long to  the  boys  that  serve  us,  a  cluster  of  fighting- 
cocks,  and  a  family  of  puppies.  It  is  easy  to  be  seen 
that  our  establishment  is  thus  somewhat  of  a  tropical 
menagerie,  and  a  performance  is  almost  always  going 
on  in  some  quarter  or  other. 

I  have  just  completed  the  purchase  of  a  horse  and 
carriage  complete,  including  the  coachman,  for  $100, 
and  on  the  first  trial  we  passed  everything  on  the 
road.  The  pony  is  a  high-stepper,  and  rattled  along 
over  the  ground  at  a  terrific  speed,  as  a  good  Philip- 
pine animal  should.  The  coachman  seems  to  know 
how  to  drive,  which  is  a  rare  attainment  among  the 
natives,  and  so  far,  though  he  has  run  over  two  boys, 
he  has  not  taken  off  any  wheels  in  the  car-tracks. 

They  say  it  costs  a  good  deal  to  live  well  out  this 
way,  but  that  is  a  mistake,  and  if  one  lived  at  home 
in  the  same  style  the  bills  would  be  at  least  ten  times 
as  large.  To  be  sure,  it  would  be  possible  to  come 
to  Manila,  board  with  a  Spanish  family  in  the  old 
city,  avoid  joining  the  club,  and  live  almost  for  noth- 


58  YESTERDAYS  IN   THE  PHILIPPINES 

ing.  However,  this  is  a  custom  not  much  encouraged 
in  the  Orient,  and  one  cannot  properly  take  his  place 
among  the  colony  of  English  and  other  Europeans 
without  spending  a  certain  reasonable  amount. 

Business  is  done  more  on  a  social  scale  than  at 
home,  and  the  lowest  English  clerk  in  the  large  houses 
feels  that  he  must  enter  into  the  free  and  easy  expend- 
iture of  his  better-paid  chief.  After  office  hours  are 
over  everyone  stands  on  the  same  social  plane,  and 
all  business  talk  is  tabooed.  The  office-boy  often  calls 
his  lord  and  master  "  Bill,"  and  frequently  has  a  bet- 
ter-looking horse  and  carriage. 

The  U.  S.  S.  Concord  has  just  come  into  the  bay 
and  been  saluted  by  the  fort.  Some  of  her  officers 
will  probably  come  ashore  to  breakfast  at  the  club, 
and  it  will  probably  devolve  on  the  four  Americans  in 
the  city  to  do  what  is  needful  in  the  way  of  courtesy 
to  our  fellow-countrymen. 

To-day  is  the  beginning  of  Easter  Week,  nearly  all 
of  whose  days  are  holidays  or  holy  days.  This  is  one 
of  the  closest-observed  seasons  of  the  year,  and  on 
next  Thursday  and  Friday,  if  you  will  believe  it,  no 
carriages  are  allowed  to  appear  in  the  streets  either 
of  Manila  or  of  the  other  cities.  The  tram-cars,  to  be 
sure,  have  of  late  years  been  allowed  to  run,  and  the 
doctor's  carriage  and  the  ice-carts  can  obtain  permits. 
Beyond  them,  however,  everybody  has  to  stay  at  home 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  59 

or  walk ;  and  in  former  times  tram-cars  were  forbidden 
and  no  one  was  allowed  to  carry  an  open  umbrella. 
It  seems  the  proper  thing  to  do  to  make  arrangements 
with  some  of  the  English  colony  to  take  a  trip  off 
into  the  mountains,  and  my  chum  and  I  expect  to 
start  off  by  launch  on  Wednesday  afternoon.  Our 
party  will  consist  of  five,  not  including  half  a  dozen 
servants,  who  are  to  make  arrangements  for  bringing 
the  provisions  and  bedding. 

On  my  return  I  hope  to  have  some  fodder  for  my 
pen  and  relate  some  of  our  experiences  in  the  up- 
country  districts. 


IY 

An  Up-country  Excursion — Steaming  up  the  River  to  the  Lake — Le- 
gend of  the  Chinaman  and  the  Crocodile — Santa  Cruz  and  Pagsan- 
jan — Dress  of  the  Women — Mountain  Gorges  and  River  Rapids — 
Church  Processions — Cocoanut  Rafts — A  "  Carromata  "  Ride  to 
Paquil — An  Earthquake  Lasting  Forty-five  Seconds — Small-pox 
and  other  Diseases  in  the  Philippines — The  Manila  Fire  Depart- 
ment— How  Thatch  Dealers  Boom  the  Market — Cost  of  Living. 

March  27,  1894. 

THE  Easter  holidays  have  come  and  gone,  and  one 
of  the  favorite  vacation  trips  from  Manila  has  been 
brought  to  a  close.  Five  of  us  have  seen  lake,  moun- 
tain, and  river  scenery  ;  have  been  taking  interesting 
walks,  drives,  swims ;  have  camped  out  in  a  good 
house  and  enjoyed  the  hospitality  of  our  native  Ind- 
ian friends.  Whistling  for  the  punka-boy  to  go 
ahead,  I  will  now  set  down  the  record  of  our  trip. 

The  week  from  the  18th  of  March  to  the  25th  was 
practically  one  long  holiday,  but  it  was  Wednesday, 
the  21st,  in  the  afternoon,  that  we  left  Manila  for  the 
interior.  Band  and  I  got  up  the  trip  by  procuring 
a  large  and  commodious  steam-launch  for  five  days 
—  gratis.  Having  done  our  share,  we  left  our 

three   companions    to  look  after  the  "  chow "  and 

60 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE   PHILIPPINES  61 

other  kindred  topics.  To  my  "  boy  "  I  merely  said, 
"  Wednesday  we  are  going  up  to  the  laguna ;  pre- 
pare what  is  necessary  for  four  days."  That  was  all, 
and  on  Wednesday  afternoon  I  found  him  at  the 
launch  with  my  clothes  and  bedding  all  ready  to 
start.  Here  also  were  assembled  hams,  boxes  of  ice, 
and  other  provisions,  big  bundles  of  personal  effects, 
and  the  four  "  boys  "  (a  "  boy  "  may  be  seventy  years 
old  if  he  likes)  whom  we  were  going  to  take  along. 

The  whistle  blew,  the  special  artist  with  his  came- 
ra ambled  aboard,  amidst  a  pile  of  sun-hats,  oranges, 
and  excitement,  and  soon  the  Vigilante  was  stean: 
ing  up  the  river  on  her  sixty-mile  trip.  Familiar 
objects  were  first  passed,  but  soon  after  leaving 
the  up-town  club  new  scenes  presented  themselves. 
The  launch  stirred  up  large  waves  astern  that 
washed  both  banks  of  the  river  with  great  energy, 
and  the  first  incident  was  the  swamping  of  three 
banca-loads  of  grass  that  were  on  their  way  down  to 
Manila  under  charge  of  Indian  pedlers.  Turn  after 
turn  opened  up  new  scenes;  our  house  on  the  hill 
began  to  fade  away,  and  soon  we  skimmed  through 
native  villages  where  white  blood  was  "  not  in  it." 
The  hills  increased  in  size,  the  river  lessened,  and 
great  bamboo-trees  hung  over  toward  the  central 
channel.  At  one  point,  high  up  on  the  bluffs,  perched 
a  Chinese  pagoda-like  chapel,  said  to  have  been  con- 


62  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE   PHILIPPINES 

structed  by  a  wealthy  Celestial  as  a  thanks-offering 
for  his  escape  from  a  crocodile.  He  was  bathing  in 
the  river,  so  the  story  goes,  when  suddenly  he  saw 
the  monster  making  for  him.  He  threw  up  his  hands 
and  vowed  to  build  a  monument  to  his  patron 
saint  if  escape  was  vouchsafed  him.  And  no  sooner 
had  he  spoken  than  the  crocodile  turned  to  stone  and 
lies  there  to-day,  a  long,  low  black  mass,  fretting  the 
current  that  ripples  over  it.  As  we  passed  the  rock 
it  looked  as  if  it  had  never  been  anything  else,  but 
the  afternoon  was  too  pleasant  to  doubt  the  veracity 
of  the  legend.  On  we  went.  The  mountains  ahead 
grew  more  to  look  like  masses  of  rock  and  trees  and 
less  like  soft  blue  velvet.  Pasig,  an  important  town, 
was  left  behind,  the  lowlands  came  again,  a  multitude 
of  fish-weirs  stuck  up  ahead,  and  before  we  knew  it 
the  great  lake  was  holding  us  on  its  rather  muddy 
waters  just  where  it  slobbered  into  the  mouth  of  the 
river,  its  only  outlet. 

On  all  sides  save  the  one  by  which  we  had  entered 
rose  the  mountains  right  out  of  the  water,  and  I  was 
reminded  of  Norway  or  Scotland.  It  was  like  a  sea, 
and  the  farther  shore  was  below  the  horizon.  The 
sun  had  set  and  the  full  moon  rose  just  ahead  as  we 
kept  along  the  coast  to  the  north.  At  half  after 
eight  o'clock  we  anchored  off  a  little  town  called  San- 
ta Cruz  that  seemed  to  be  backed  up  by  two  very 


YESTEEDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  63 

lofty  mountain-peaks,  and  we  were  soon  surrounded 
by  two  bancas  filled  with  natives  who  began  to  trans- 
fer our  many  effects.  And  so  we  left  the  launch,  were 
slowly  poled  ashore,  and  next  found  ourselves  on  a 
sandy  beach  surrounded  by  much  people  and  bag- 
gage. Dispatching  two  of  our  retinue  up  into  the 
town  to  fetch  enough  of  the  two-wheeled  covered 
gigs  called  carromatas  for  our  assembly,  in  about 
three-quarters  of  an  hour  we  had  the  felicity  of  see- 
ing seven  come  racing  down  the  road  to  the  lake 
shore.  Our  destination,  by  the  way,  was  a  town 
called  Pagsanjan,  about  three-quarters  of  an  hour 
from  Santa  Cruz,  and  situated  just  at  the  foot  of  a 
range  of  mountains.  The  chattels  were  soon  loaded, 
there  was  a  cracking  of  whips,  a  creaking  of  harness, 
and  the  long  procession  started  off  at  a  rattling  gait 
through  the  town  and  out  into  the  rich  cocoanut 
groves  beyond. 

At  Manila,  outside  of  bamboo  and  banana  trees, 
there  is  no  sign  of  really  equatorial  vegetation,  but 
up  in  the  mountains  there  was  no  deception,  and 
Nature  did  her  best  to  let  us  know  that  the  temperate 
zone  was  far  away.  We  bounced  along  at  a  terrific 
pace  and  presently  saw  the  lights  of  our  little  village. 
Rattling  through  an  old  stone  archway,  we  drew  up  be- 
fore the  house  of  a  certain  Captain  Feliz,  to  whom  we 
had  been  recommended.  The  genial  old  man,  whose 


64  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

face  and  corporosity  were  charmingly  circular  in  their 
rotundity,  welcomed  us  with  open-armed  hospitality, 
and  saying  he  knew  of  just  the  house  that  would 
accommodate  our  party,  started  to  lead  u£  to  it. 
After  a  few  steps  he  suddenly  stopped,  apologized 
smilingly,  said  he  had  forgotten  his  set  of  false  teeth, 
and  must  return  for  them.  And  coming  back  shortly 
after,  he  took  out  his  teeth,  commented  on  their  grace 
and  usefulness,  and  said  he  could  speak  much  better 
Spanish  with  than  without  them. 

In  due  season  we  drew  up  at  a  very  thick- walled 
stone  house  on  the  high  bank  just  above  the  river, 
and  were  invited  to  take  possession.  Our  "  boys  "  got 
out  the  provisions  in  short  order,  for  a  late  supper ; 
our  pieces  of  straw  matting  were  spread  out  around 
the  edges  of  the  shining  floor  of  the  large  "sala" 
which  had  been  placed  at  our  disposal  for  a  dormi- 
tory ;  pillows  and  light  coverings  were  duly  regulated, 
and  after  eating  a  bit,  we  said  good-night  to  our 
new  friends  and  turned  in  on  the  floor  to  rest.  I 
found  the  hardwood  planks  so  soft  after  my  bed  at 
Manila  that  before  long  I  arose,  arranged  eight  chairs 
in  facing  pairs,  spread  out  my  sleeping-arrangements, 
and  soon  fell  asleep  in  a  very  good  improvised  bed 
which  was  high  enough  from  the  floor  to  keep  cock- 
roaches from  using  me  as  a  promenade.  Thursday 
morning  we  arose  early,  washed  ourselves  on  the 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE   PHILIPPINES  65 

balcony  that  overlooked  the  fashionable  avenue  of 
the  village,  and,  as  is  the  true  Philippine  custom, 
sprinkled  the  street  with  solutions  of  soapsuds. 

Now,  as  I  have  said  before,  the  Thursday  and  Fri- 
day before  Easter  are  tremendously  sacred  days  in 
the  Philippines,  and  no  carriages  of  any  description 
are  permitted  to  move  about.  The  little  town  was 
still  as  death,  and  the  early-morning  hush  was  only 
broken  now  and  then  by  the  weird  caterwaulings  of 
the  peculiar  Passion  songs  which  the  natives  in  these 
parts  sing  off  and  on  during  Lent.  Later  on,  as  we 
finished  breakfast,  groups  of  women  began  coming  out 
of  the  various  houses  and  directed  their  steps  church- 
ward. Most  of  them  were  gorgeously  dressed  in  all 
colors  of  the  solar  spectrum — with  a  little  cloth 
added  on — and  it  was  instructive  to  see  an  expen- 
sively gowned  Indian  woman  emerge  from  a  shabby 
little  nipa  hut  that  didn't  look  as  if  it  could  incu- 
bate such  starched  freshness.  For  the  dresses  that 
some  of  these  people  wear  are  costly;  and  even 
their  pina  neckerchiefs  often  cost  $100. 

After  breakfast  we  went  down  to  the  river  and  got 
into  five  hollowed-out  tree-trunks,  preparatory  to  the 
start  up  into  the  mountain-gorges.  It  was  worse 
than  riding  a  bicycle,  trying  to  balance  one  of  the 
crazy  affairs,  and  for  a  few  moments  I  feared  my 

camera  and  I  would  get  wet.     However,   nobody 
6 


66  YESTERDAYS   IN   THE  PHILIPPINES 

turned  turtle,  and  we  were  paddled  up  between  the 
high  cocoanut-fringed  banks  of  the  wonderfully  clear 
river  before  the  early  morning  sun  had  looked  over 
the  mountains  into  whose  cool  heart  we  were  going. 

Then  came  the  first  rapids,  with  backgrounds  of 
rich  slopes  showing  heavy  growths  of  hemp  and 
cocoa  palms.  Another  short  paddle  and  the  second 
set  of  rapids  was  passed  on  foot.  A  clear  blue  lane 
of  water  then  stretched  out  in  front  of  us  and  greached 
squarely  into  the  mountain  fastnesses  through  a 
huge  rift  where  almost  perpendicular  walls  were 
artistically  draped  with  rich  foliage  that  concealed 
birds  of  many  colors,  a  few  chattering  monkeys,  and 
many  hanging  creepers.  Again  it  seemed  like  a 
Norwegian  fjord  or  the  Via  Mala,  but  here,  instead 
of  bare  rocks,  were  deeply  verdured  ones.  Above, 
the  blue  sky  showed  in  a  narrow  irregular  line; 
below,  the  absolutely  clear  water  reflected  the  heav- 
ens ;  the  cliffs  rose  a  thousand  feet,  the  water  was 
five  hundred  feet  deep,  the  birds  sang,  the  creepers 
hung,  the  water  dripped,  and  we  seemed  to  float 
through  a  sort  of  El  Dorado,  a  visionary  and  unreal 
paradise.  At  last  we  glided  in  through  a  specially 
narrow  lane  not  more  than  fifty  feet  wide;  a  holy 
twilight  prevailed ;  the  cliffs  seemed  to  hold  up  the 
few  fleecy  clouds  tLat  floated  far  over  our  head,  and 
we  landed  on  a  little  jutiing  point  for  bathing  and  re- 


YESTEKDAYS   IN  THE   PHILIPPINES  67 

freshments.  It  seemed  as  if  we  were  diving  into  the 
river  Lethe  or  being  introduced  to  the  boudoir  of 
Nature  herself.  In  an  hour  we  pushed  on,  passed  up 
by  three  more  rapids,  and  halted  at  last  at  the  foot  of 
a  bridal-veil  waterfall  that  charmed  the  eye  with  its 
beauty,  cooled  the  air  with  its  mists,  and  set  off  the 
green  foliage  with  its  white  purity.  Here  we  lunched, 
and  in  lieu  of  warm  beer  drank  in  the  beauties  of  the 
scenery. 

The  return  was  a  repetition  of  the  advance,  except 
that  we  shot  one  or  two  of  the  rapids,  and  that  the 
banco,  holding  the  boy  and  the  provisions  upset 
in  a  critical  place,  wetting  the  crackers  that  were 
labelled  "keep  dry."  We  got  back  to  our  house  by 
early  afternoon,  and  all  agreed  that  an  inimitable, 
unexcelled,  wouldn't-have-missed-it-for-the-world  ex- 
cursion had  passed  into  history. 

Good  old  Captain  Feliz  took  us  to  call  on  some  of 
the  native  villagers  in  the  late  afternoon,  who  ex- 
hibited quite  a  bit  of  Indian  hospitality.  At  one 
house  was  a  pretty  Indian  girl  who  spoke  Spanish 
very  well  and  entertained  our  party  of  six  with  as 
much  grace  as  an  American  belle.  Of  course  the 
presence  of  five  "  Ingleses "  in  town  was  quite  an 
event  in  a  place  fifty  miles  from  Manila,  and  as  we 
walked  through  street  after  street  each  house-win- 
dow presented  at  least  seven  curious  faces;  dogs 


68  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

barked,  fighting-cocks  crowed,  and  the  occupations  of 
the  moment  were  suspended. 

After  dinner  we  sat  out  on  the  balcony  to  watch 
the  procession  that  wound  around  through  the  vari- 
ous streets,  starting  from  the  fortress-like  church  and 
finally  bringing  up  there.  These  church  parades  are 
a  good  deal  like  our  torch-light  processions,  except 
that  here  images,  not  mud-besprinkled  men,  carry 
most  of  the  torches.  In  this  affair  there  were  a  dozen 
or  more  floats,  each  one  bearing  a  saint,  an  apostle, 
or  somebody  else,  and  each  decorated  with  very 
costly  drapery,  ornaments,  and  elaborate  candelabra 
illuminators.  Scattered  all  along  between  the  floats 
straggled  natives  carrying  poles  on  which  were  im- 
ages of  a  candle,  a  hand,  a  spear,  a  pair  of  nails,  a 
cock,  a  set  of  garments,  and  other  symbolic  articles 
relating  to  the  crucifixion.  Then  came  Peter  on  a 
very  elaborate  moving  pedestal,  and  in  his  hand  he 
held  the  traditional  bunch  of  keys.  Then  a  Descent 
from  the  Cross,  with  two  apostles  standing  up  on 
step-ladders.  Next  came  the  band  of  the  procession 
— three  men  singing  to  the  tune  of  an  old  violin — and 
finally  the  Virgin  Mary  with  glass  tears  rolling  down 
her  wax  cheeks.  On  each  side  of  the  line  from  start 
to  finish  trooped  the  populace,  mostly  women  dressed 
in  black  and  carrying  candles. 

Next  day  was  Good  Friday.     No  traps  of  any  de- 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  69 

scription  to  be  had,  as  none  were  allowed  to  run,  and 
so  we  spent  the  day  about  the  town  and  in  walk- 
ing up  into  the  hills.  A  look  into  the  great,  solid 
old  church  in  the  morning  showed  us  a  fragrant  and 
gaudily  dressed  audience  kneeling  in  various  post- 
ures on  the  tiled  floors,  while  numerous  dogs  of 
various  cross  breeds  and  tempers  meandered  in 
through  the  door  and  among  the  worshippers.  From 
the  church  we  strolled  across  a  very  primitive 
bamboo  bridge  over  a  branch  river,  and  wandered 
through  a  luxurious  cocoanut  grove  beneath  whose 
tall  trees  were  situate  a  couple  of  very  rudimentary 
cocoanut-oil  mills  and  the  houses  of  the  operators. 
The  machinery  was  very  crude.  One  might  think  he 
was  back  in  the  days  of  stone  knives,  seeing  these 
simple  contrivances,  the  awkward  levers,  the  foot- 
power  grindstones,  and  the  old  pots  and  kettles.  In 
the  river  near  the  mills  were  thousands  of  cocoanuts 
ready  to  be  tied  together  in  rafts  for  floating  down  to 
Manila,  and  everybody's  business  up  this  way  seemed 
to  consist  in  watching  this  oily  fruit  fall  from  the 
trees. 

In  the  early  evening,  just  before  another  religious 
procession  started,  we  heard  a  great  clatter  up  in  the 
belfry  of  the  old  church,  and  learned  that  the  hubbub 
was  made  by  "  devil-frighteners."  On  inquiring  as 
to  the  nature  of  this  weird  clap-trap  symphony,  it 


70  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

seems  that  on  these  especially  holy  days  men  are 
stationed  up  in  the  bell-towers  with  huge  wooden 
rattles,  which  they  so  manipulate  from  time  to  time 
that  the  noise  is  said  to  act  as  a  scare-crow  to  the 
various  devils  who  are  supposed  to  be  hovering  about 
seeking  whom  they  may  devour. 

After  another  peaceful  night's  rest,  some  of  us 
took  our  morning  jump  into  the  river,  and  all  prepared 
for  a  twelve-mile  carromata  drive  out  along  the 
lake  shore  beneath  the  mountains,  to  a  little  village 
called  Paquil,  said  to  be  possessed  of  a  crystal  spring 
bathing-pool.  The  road  for  a  good  bit  of  the  way 
was  of  the  Napoleon-crossing-the-Alps  style,  and  it 
got  to  be  so  bad  I  rather  thought  we  were  in  for  a 
walk.  Not  a  bit  of  it.  The  carromatas  are  built 
strong  as  the  rocks  themselves,  the  wheels  are  huge 
and  solid,  the  ponies  tough  as  prize-fighters,  and  the 
driver  urges  the  whole  affair  along  at  a  tremendous 
pace.  So  we  bounced  along,  and  most  of  our  time 
was  spent,  not  on  the  seat,  but  midway  between  it 
and  the  roof,  which  occasionally  came  down  and 
thumped  our  heads.  On  the  way  we  passed  through 
numerous  little  villages,  and  in  one  out-of-the-way 
place  we  called  on  an  American,  Thomas  Collins,  who 
has  been  practically  shut  in  out  here  for  twenty-five 
years.  It  seems  that  he  got  cheated  out  of  a  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  valuable  wood  a 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  71 

good  while  ago  by  the  officials  of  a  certain  provincial 
district,  and  has  been  trying  to  get  the  claim  paid 
ever  since.  He  was  a  queer  chap,  and  had  almost 
forgotten  how  to  speak  American ;  but  at  last  he  man- 
aged to  remember  the  word  "hell,"  and  then  his 
ideas  began  to  flow  more  freely. 

When  we  arrived  at  Paquil  our  conductor,  the 
genial  Captain  Feliz,  walked  up  to  the  house  of  an 
acquaintance  and  asked  him  to  put  it  at  our  disposal. 
As  before,  the  request  was  father  to  the  grant,  and  we 
dumped  our  chattels  down  into  a  parlor  full  of  wax 
virgins  and  crucifixes.  The  bath,  for  which  the  vil- 
lage is  quite  famous,  is  a  large  pool  five  feet  deep, 
with  a  pebble  bottom.  At  one  end  a  stream  of  clear 
water  gushes  forth  from  the  hillside,  while  at  the 
other  an  overflow  brook  carries  off  the  surplus  and 
goes  bubbling  down  through  the  village  to  the  lake. 
We  had  our  swim  after  all  the  native  bathers  had  left, 
and  got  back  to  our  house  in  time  for  a  tiffin  that  had 
been  brought  with  us  in  the  baskets.  In  the  early 
afternoon  we  took  our  siesta,  in  the  later  hours 
started  for  our  jogglety  return  drive,  and  at  Pagsanjan 
found  prepared  for  us  a  feast  of  sucking  pigs. 

On  Sunday  morning  we  were  ready  for  our  return 
to  Manila.  The  seven  gigs  arrived,  we  said  hearty 
farewell  to  our  friends,  presented  Captain  Feliz 
some  empty  bottles  and  two  teapots,  and  rattled  out 


72  YESTEEDAYS   IN   THE   PHILIPPINES 

through  the  town  toward  Santa  Cruz,  where  our 
launch  was  in  waiting.  The  trip  was  cool  and  pleas- 
ant across  the  lake,  but  it  was  hot  when  in  about  four 
and  a  half  hours  we  got  to  the  low  river-country 
again.  The  sail  down  was  like  the  sail  up,  and  by 
dinner-time  we  backed  water  to  bump  into  the  portico 
of  the  club,  where  all  hands  disembarked  for  dinner. 
Thus  ended  what  I  suppose  is  the  most  popular  and 
most  delightful  excursion  which  the  foreigner  can 
make  from  the  capital  of  the  Philippines  in  the  few 
days  which  the  church  feasts  at  Easter  put  at  his 
disposal. 

April  6th. 

The  other  night  I  dreamt  I  was  climbing  up  a  long 
hill  on  a  bicycle.  Once  at  the  top,  I  started  down 
over  the  other  side  at  a  terrific  pace.  Somehow  or 
other,  by  mistake,  the  wheel  ran  off  into  a  gutter 
at  the  side  of  the  road,  and  bounced  around  in  such 
a  dangerous  manner  that  it  all  but  upset.  How- 
ever, with  tremendous  exertion,  I  managed  to  jump 
the  mechanism  back  onto  the  smooth  ground  again, 
and  continued  safely  down  to  the  bottom  of  the  hill 
at  a  two-forty  gait.  Arrived  at  the  bottom,  I  conven- 
iently woke  up,  and  heard  a  rat  under  the  bed  trying 
to  slide  one  of  my  shoes  off  across  the  floor. 

Next  morning,  on  coming  down  to  the  office,  several 
of  my  business  friends  asked  me  if  I  had  felt  the  severe 


Q 

U 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE   PHILIPPINES  73 

earthquake  shock  during  the  night.  I  said  "  No,"  and 
inquired  as  to  the  particulars.  It  seems  that  the 
shock  lasted  some  forty-five  seconds,  and  my  chum 
was  awakened  by  his  bed  commencing  to  rock  around 
and  by  the  four  walls  of  his  room  attempting  to  move 
in  different  directions.  Nothing  in  the  city  was  much 
injured,  I  believe,  and  next  day  the  really  excellent 
observatory,  conducted  by  the  Jesuits,  gave  out  a  full 
illustrated  description  of  the  affair. 

Up  at  our  new  bungalow,  the  only  incidents  worthy 
of  note  have  been  the  attempted  stealing  of  my  pony 
and  the  consumption  of  my  best  shoes  by  one  of  our 
house-rats. 

A  Philippine  burglar,  curiously  enough,  takes  off 
his  clothes,  smears  his  dark  skin  with  cocoanut-oil, 
and  prowls  around  like  a  greased  pig  that  cannot  be 
caught.  One  of  these  slippery  thieves  got  into  our 
stable,  unhitched  my  pony,  and  took  him  almost  to 
the  front  gate  before  the.  sleepy  coachman  found  his 
wits.  But  prompt  action  saved  the  day,  and  the  lu- 
bricated robber  escaped,  leaving  his  booty  pawing  the 
ground. 

But  with  my  shoes  I  was  not  so  fortunate.  I 
woke  up  suddenly  to  hear  something  being  dragged 
across  the  floor.  Thinking  it  was  only  a  rat  making 
off  with  a  boot-jack  with  which  to  line  his  nest,  I  re- 
frained from  tempting  Providence  by  leaving  the  pro- 


74  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

tection  of  the  mosquito-netting.  Next  morning  I 
found  that  one  of  these  rodents  had  pulled  a  pair 
of  my  patent-leather  shoes  off  a  low  shelf  beneath 
the  bed,  dragged  them  out  into  the  hallway  behind  a 
hat-rack,  and  eaten  up  the  most  savory  portions  of 
the  bindings.  Complimentary  to  the  prowess  of 
the  rat  or  to  the  lightness  of  my  shoes — which  ?  I 
keep  them  now  as  articles  on  which  the  patent  has 
run  out — worthless,  but  curiosities. 

Otherwise  things  have  run  smoothly,  and  each 
evening  we  lie  in  the  long  chairs  on  the  broad  ve- 
randa, watching  the  Southern  Cross  come  up  over 
the  hills,  or  the  score  of  brush-fires  of  dried  rice- 
stalks  that  illuminate  the  darkness  away  off  toward 
the  mountains.  The  music  from  our  piano  seems  to 
give  much  delight  to  the  members  of  the  servants' 
hall,  now  nine  in  number,  besides  several  puppies  and 
game-cocks.  The  other  night,  although  in  the  midst 
of  the  hot  season,  we  had  a  prodigious  cold  snap 
again,  when  the  thermometer  went  down  to  sixty, 
after  being  ninety-five  during  the  day,  and  two  blan- 
kets were  not  at  all  uncomfortable. 

I  see  by  the  papers  that  there  are  at  least  two  cases 
of  small-pox  in  Boston,  that  everybody  is  alarmed 
and  hundreds  are  getting  vaccinated.  Curious  state 
of  affairs — isn't  it  ? — when  every  day  out  here  you  see 
small  children  running  around  in  the  streets,  covered 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  75 

with  evidences  of  this  disease.  Nobody  thinks  any- 
thing about  small-pox  in  Manila,  and  one  ceases  to 
notice  it  if  a  Philippine  mamma  sits  opposite  you  in 
the  tram-car,  holding  in  her  lap  a  scantily  clothed 
child  whose  swarthy  hide  is  illuminated  with  those 
unmistakable  markings.  Some  weeks  ago  there  were 
even  four  hundred  deaths  a  week  in  Manila  from 
this  disease  alone ;  and  from  the  way  in  which  the 
afflicted  mix  with  the  hale  and  hearty,  you  can  only 
wonder  that  there  were  not  four  thousand.  But 
small-pox  flourishes  best  in  the  cool,  dry  days  of  our 
winter  months,  and  is  now  being  stamped  out  by  the 
warmer  weather.  An  effort  is  being  made  to  have 
everybody  vaccinated,  and  the  steamers  from  Japan 
have  brought  down  whole  cargoes  of  lymph,  but  the 
natives  do  not  see  any  reason  why  they  should  un- 
dergo this  experiment,  and  would  much  prefer  to  have 
the  small-pox  than  to  be  vaccinated.  And  this  being 
the  case,  it  is  no  wonder  that  almost  seventy-five  per 
cent,  of  them  bear  those  uncomplimentary  marks  of 
the  disease's  attention. 

Now  that  I  have  inoculated  my  page  with  a  refer- 
ence to  this  rather  unpleasant  subject,  it  is  only  a  bit 
of  sad  truth  to  tell  of  the  only  fatality  caused  by  the 
malady  in  our  little  Anglo-Saxon  colony.  Recently  I 
went  into  the  Bay  with  a  young  Englishman  who  had 
always  lived  in  terror  of  this  one  disease,  and  had 


76  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE   PHILIPPINES 

avoided  both  contact  with  the  natives  and  excursions 
into  the  infected  districts.  The  launch  took  me  to  the 
vessel  which  we  were  loading,  and  then  carried  him 
on  to  that  receiving  cargo  from  his  concern.  Later 
she  returned  with  him,  picked  me  up,  and  together  we 
went  ashore  to  stop  a  moment  at  the  club  before  going 
home  for  the  day.  I  never  saw  him  again,  poor  chap, 
though  I  did  take  over  his  stable,  for  next  morning  he 
was  taken  with  black  small-pox  and  died  in  a  week. 

The  families  of  the  lightermen  in  the  Bay — crowded 
as  they  are  into  the  hencoops  over  the  stern  of  the 
bulky  craft — are  full  of  it,  and  hence  the  fatal  ending 
to  our  little  afternoon  excursion.  As  a  rule,  how- 
ever, the  members  of  the  English-speaking  colony  get 
so  used  to  this  disease  that  they  have  no  especial  fear 
in  suddenly  turning  a  sharp  corner  of  running  into 
some  native  sufferer. 

In  days  gone  by,  when  cholera  decimated  Manila's 
numbers,  when  people  died  faster  than  they  could  be 
buried,  when  business  was  at  a  standstill  and  the  city 
one  great  death-house,  were  the  times  that  tried 
men's  souk.  But  now  that  those  big  water-mains 
which  run  along  the  ground  bring  fresh  water  from 
far  up  into  the  hills,  the  natives  have  given  up 
the  deadly  practice  of  drinking  from  the  river,  and, 
thanks  to  the  good  supply  system,  no  longer  give  the 
cholera  free  admittance. 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  77 

Besides  small-pox,  then,  fever  is  about  the  greatest 
enemy,  and  certain  types  of  the  malarial  variety  seem 
so  common  that  the  sufferers  from  them  often  walk 
into  the  club,  drop  into  a  chair,  and  say,  "  Got  the 
fever  again.  Means  another  lay-off.  "  If  they  can 
keep  about,  the  old  stagers  never  give  up ;  but 
novices  buy  thermometers  and  cracked  ice,  and  either 
go  through  a  terrific  siege,  like  my  friend,  whose 
eight  weeks'  struggle  shrunk  his  head  so  that  in  con- 
valescence his  hat  touched  his  ears,  or  escape  with  a 
week's  initiation.  Typhoid  seems  also  common,  and 
there  is  generally  one  member  of  the  colony,  for 
whom  the  rest  are  anxious,  stretched  out  in  ice- 
baths  and  wishing  he  had  never  seen  the  Philip- 
pines. The  old  hands — who,  by  the  way,  seem  to 
be  regular  sufferers  from  the  fever  —  all  say  the 
only  way  to  be  safe  is  to  drink  plenty  of  whiskey, 
but  so  far  I  have  found  that  the  less  one  takes  the 
better  off  he  is. 

Someone  in  the  States  has  suggested  that  if  things 
get  too  hot  it  would  be  well  to  run  over  to  Hong 
Kong  for  a  change  of  scene.  But  if  there  is  any  place 
in  the  world  that  is  hotter,  stickier,  more  disagree- 
able than  Hong  Kong,  in  the  months  from  May  to 
October,  let  us  hear  from  it.  It  is  far  worse  in  sum- 
mer than  Manila,  for,  completely  shut  in  as  it  is  by 
the  mountains,  it  does  not  receive  the  benefit  of  the 


78  YESTERDAYS  IN   THE  PHILIPPINES 

southwest  monsoon,  which  blows  with  great  force 
over  the  Philippines  during  the  above  months.  Even 
Japan  itself  gets  a  good  roasting  for  the  two  or  three 
months  of  the  hot  season,  and  there  is  not  much  left 
to  do  but  to  seek  cold  weather  in  Australia.  Our  only 
very  hot  months  here  are  said  to  be  April  and  May ; 
sometimes  part  of  June.  The  sun  now  is  directly 
overhead  and  going  fast  to  the  north  of  us,  but  so  far 
the  temperature  has  never  been  unbearable.  The  mer- 
cury stands  at  about  ninety-five  from  twelve  to  three 
each  day,  but  somehow  or  other  one  does  not  feel  it 
so  much  in  the  cool  white  suits,  unless  he  attempts  to 
fall  asleep  on  some  of  the  sheet-iron  roofs.  The 
nights  are  still  cool  and  comfortable,  and  what  with 
a  cold  snap  now  and  then,  such  as  I  spoke  of  above, 
fans  are  having  a  poor  sale.  In  the  afternoon,  walk- 
ing, rowing,  and  tennis  are  still  possible,  and  the 
bands  of  the  Luneta  still  have  enough  wind  left  to 
give  us  the  "  Funeral  March  "  or  "  Prize  Song." 

April  28th. 

Manila  fare,  like  Manila  life,  is  not  unwholesome, 
but  it  lacks  variety,  and  one  rather  tires,  now  and 
then,  of  soup,  chicken,  beefsteak,  and  toothpicks — 
four  staples.  But  fortunately  for  us  who  like  variety, 
though  unhappily  for  five  or  six  hundred  other  people, 
there  occurred  a  vast  conflagration  yesterday  after- 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  79 

noon  that  sent  about  five  or  six  hundred  houses  sail- 
ing off  through  the  air  in  the  form  of  smoke. 

As  we  were  getting  ready  to  leave  the  office  for 
the  day,  clouds  of  smoke  suddenly  began  to  rise  over 
the  iron  house-roofs  to  the  eastward,  and  we  knew 
that  one  of  Manila's  semi-annual  holocaustic  celebra- 
tions was  in  progress.  The  church  bells  began  to 
ring,  and  all  sorts  of  people  and  carriages  started 
toward  the  centre  of  interest. 

The  Manila  Fire  Department  consists  of  about  six 
hand-engines  and  a  few  hose-carts,  and  if  a  fire  gets 
started  it  generally  burns  along  until  an  open  field,  a 
river,  or  a  thick  mass  of  banana-trees  stops  its  prog- 
ress. The  English  houses,  to  be  sure,  have  recently 
gotten  out  from  home  one  of  their  small  steam  "gar- 
den-pumps," and  many  of  the  young  Britons  have  had 
weekly  practice  in  manipulating  its  various  parts. 
When  the  alarm  for  the  present  fire  rang  you  might 
have  seen  several  servants,  employed  in  their  re- 
spective homes  by  the  members  of  the  new  Volunteer 
Fire  Department,  slowly  wandering  toward  the  shed 
where  the  engine  was  kept,  with  some  nicely  folded 
red  shirts,  coats  with  brass  buttons,  helmets  with 
Matterhorn-like  summits,  and  axes  that  shone  from 
lack  of  work.  These  youths  did  not  seem  to  be  in 
any  hurry,  and  it  turned  out  that  when  they  reached 
the  engine-house,  when  their  masters  had  togged 


80  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

up  sufficiently  well  to  impress  the  spectators,  and 
when  the  engine  finally  got  to  the  fire,  the  build- 
ings had  been  translated  into  their  new  and  rather 
more  ethereal  form. 

The  fire  was  two  miles,  more  or  less,  from  the  cen- 
tre of  the  town.  The  Volunteer  Fire  Brigade  had 
to  haul  the  engine  the  entire  distance,  as  they  feared 
that  if  the  usual  carabao  oxen  were  hitched  on,  the 
speed  over  the  pavements  would  be  too  great.  After 
reaching  the  centre  of  action,  an  hour  was  spent  in 
waiting  for  the  man  who  brought  some  spare  coal  in 
a  wheelbarrow  and  in  choosing  a  location  which 
would  not  be  uncomfortable  for  the  brigade.  Conse- 
quently, the  "  London  Garden  Pump  "  was  stationed 
to  windward  of  the  fire,  on  a  side  where  it  could  not 
possibly  spread  any  farther,  and  thus  all  stray  flames 
and  smoke  were  avoided.  A  hose  was  stuck  down 
into  the  creek,  and  steam  turned  on.  A  stream  of 
water  about  large  enough  to  be  clearly  visible  with  a 
microscope  suddenly  jumped  forth  into  the  middle 
of  the  street,  wetting  the  spectators.  Somebody  had 
forgotten  to  attach  the  extra  pieces  of  hose  that  were 
to  lead  down  to  the  fire,  and  steam  had  to  be  turned 
off.  After  everything  was  ready  to  get  to  business,  a 
tram-car  came  along,  and  it  wasn't  allowable  to  stop 
its  progress  by  putting  a  hose  across  the  track,  even 
if  there  was  a  fire.  And  so  it  went  from  grave  to 


YESTEKDAYS  IN   THE  PHILIPPINES  81 

gay,  the  swell  brigade  furnishing  the  humorous  part 
of  the  otherwise  rather  sad  spectacle. 

A  Philippine  fire  is  like  any  other,  except  that  with 
the  many  nipa  houses  it  does  its  work  quickly  and 
well,  and  in  this  instance  the  whole  affair  lasted  but 
a  couple  of  hours.  Hundreds  of  families  moved  out 
into  the  wet  rice-fields,  with  all  their  chattels,  and 
there  were  many  curious-looking  groups.  In  saving 
various  articles  of  furniture  and  other  valuables,  the 
fighting-cock,  as  usual,  was  considered  the  most  im- 
portant, and  it  was  interesting  to  watch  the  natives 
trudging  along  with  scared  faces,  holding  a  rooster 
by  the  legs  in  one  hand  and  a  baby  or  two  in  the 
other.  Pigs,  chickens,  and  dogs  seemed  to  come  next 
in  value,  and  after  them  ice-chests  and  images  of  the 
Virgin  Mary.  The  sun  went  down  on  a  strange 
spectacle,  and  it  was  hard  not  to  pity  all  the  crowd 
that  were  thus  rudely  thrown  out  of  their  habitations. 
Myriads  of  spectators  there  were  and  myriads  of 
carriages,  of  all  ages  and  sizes,  some  loaded  with 
chattels  ready  to  take  flight,  and  others  waiting  to 
be.  At  dusk,  however,  all  danger  was  over  ;  the 
mobs  departed  north,  east,  south,  and  west ;  the  brig- 
ade carefully  brushed  the  dust  off  their  boots  and 
shirts,  and  the  poor  burned-out  unfortunates  looked 
with  moistened  eyes  on  the  ruin  of  their  homes. 

The  wags  go  far  enough  to  say  that  the  dealers  in 
6 


82  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

thatch  are  responsible  for  many  of  the  big  fires  both 
in  the  capital  and  smaller  villages  and  that,  when 
times  are  bad  or  prices  for  thatch  low,  they  arrange 
to  "  bull "  the  market  by  means  of  a  conflagration. 
A  lamp  is  tipped  over — a  thousand  houses  go  up  in 
smoke,  and  as  go  the  houses  so  rise  the  prices  for 
nipa  thatch. 

The  second  series  of  pony  races  occurred  during 
the  middle  days  of  this  month,  at  the  race-track  down 
below  our  bungalow,  and  all  Manila  again  came  roll- 
ing up  through  the  dust  to  see  the  performances  of 
the  smart  ponies.  The  events  were  but  a  repetition 
of  those  which  took  place  in  March,  except  that  in 
many  respects  the  running-time  was  better  and  the 
races  far  more  close  and  interesting. 

Some  of  the  old  stagers  are  beginning  to  complain 
of  the  heat.  We  take  afternoon  tea  now  and  then,  as 
is  customary  in  all  the  business  houses,  with  some  of 
our  friends,  in  an  office  on  the  other  side  of  our  build- 
ing. Yesterday  afternoon  a  thermometer  placed  out- 
side of  our  window  registered  125°  F.,  I  suspect 
this  was  owing  to  some  of  the  reflected  heat  coming 
from  the  iron  roofs.  Inside  the  room  the  mercury 
stood  at  97°  F.,  but  we  drank  our  hot  tea  and 
enjoyed  the  coolness  which  resulted  from  consequent 
perspiration. 

I  have  now  been  settled  in  Manila  long  enough  to 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  83 

find  out  what  it  costs  to  live,  and  the  general  cheap- 
ness of  existence  is  more  appalling  than  I  first 
thought.  Our  house  is  a  good  one,  with  all  the  com- 
forts of  home,  and  is  surrounded  by  an  acre  or  two  of 
land.  We  have  stables  for  our  horses  and  outbuild- 
ings for  the  families  of  our  servants.  At  the  end 
of  the  month  all  expenditures  for  house-rent,  food, 
wages,  light,  and  sundries  are  posted  together  and 
divided  by  three,  and  with  everything  included  my 
monthly  share  comes  to  twenty-nine  gold  dollars — 
less  than  one  of  our  American  cart-wheels — per  diem. 

Where  in  the  States  could  you  rent  a  suburban 
house  and  lot,  keep  half  a  dozen  servants,  pay  your 
meat  bill,  your  drink  bill,  and  your  rent  all  for  less 
than  a  single  dollar  a  day !  You  can  scarcely  drive 
a  dozen  blocks  in  a  hansom  or  buy  a  pound  of  Mail- 
lard's  for  that  money  at  home  and  yet,  in  Manila,  that 
one  coin  shelters  you  from  the  weather,  ministers  to 
the  inner  man,  and  keeps  the  parlor  in  order. 

Our  cook,  for  instance,  gets  forty  cents  each  morn- 
ing to  supply  our  table  with  dinner  enough  for  four 
people,  and  for  five  cents  extra  he  will  decorate  the 
cloth  with  orchids  and  put  peas  in  the  soup.  To 
think  of  being  able  to  get  up  a  six-course  dinner,  in- 
cluding usually  a  whole  chicken,  besides  a  roast,  with 
vegetables,  salad,  dessert,  fruit,  and  coffee,  for  such  a 
sum  seems  ridiculous  in  the  extreme. 


84  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

The  methods  of  marketing  are  almost  as  noteworthy 
as  the  low  prices  for  "  raw  materials."  All  meat  must 
be  eaten  on  the  same  day  it  is  killed,  since  here  in  the 
tropics  even  ice  fails  to  preserve  fish,  flesh,  or  fowl. 
As  a  result,  while  the  beef  and  mutton  are  killed  in 
the  early  morning — a  few  hours  before  the  market 
opens — the  smaller  fry,  such  as  chickens  and  game, 
are  sold  alive.  From  six  to  ten  on  any  morning  the 
native  and  Chinese  cooks  from  many  families  may  be 
seen  bargaining  for  the  day's  supply  among  the  nest 
of  stalls  in  the  big  market.  After  filling  their  baskets 
numbers  of  them  mount  the  little  tram-car  for  the  re- 
turn trips  to  their  kitchens  and  proceed  to  pluck  the 
feathers  off  the  live  chickens  or  birds  as  they  jog 
along  on  the  front  or  rear  platform.  By  the  time 
they  have  arrived  home  the  poor  creatures  are  stripped 
of  foliage,  and,  keenly  suffering,  are  pegged  down  to 
the  floor  of  the  kitchen  to  await  their  fate.  Then, 
when  the  creaking  of  the  front  gate  announces  the 
return  of  the  master,  it  is  time  enough  to  wring  the 
necks  of  the  unfortunates  and  shove  them  into  the 
boiling-pot  or  roasting-pan  that  seems  but  to  accen- 
tuate a  certain  toughness  which  fresh-killed  meat 
possesses. 

The  washing-bill,  again,  is  far  from  commensurate 
with  the  fulness  of  one's  clothes-hamper,  and  for  two 
gold  dollars  per  month  I  can  turn  over  to  my  laundry- 


«    -6, 
X    •» 


o 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  85 

man — who  comes  in  from  the  country  once  a  week — 
as  much  or  as  little  as  I  please.  Two  full  suits  of 
white  sheeting  clothes  a  day  for  thirty  days  make 
one  item  of  no  mean  dimensions,  and  yet  the  lavan- 
dero  turns  up  each  week  with  his  basketful,"  per- 
fectly satisfied  with  his  remuneration.  Then,  too,  he 
washes  well,  and  although,  when  I  see  him  standing 
knee-deep  in  the  river  whanging  my  trousers  from 
over  his  head  down  onto  a  flat  stone,  I  fear  for  seams 
and  buttons,  nothing  appears  to  suffer.  And  al- 
though he  builds  a  small  bonfire  in  a  brass  flat-iron 
that  looks  like  a  warming-pan  and  runs  it  over  my 
white  coats  all  blazing  as  it  is,  the  result  is  excellent, 
and  one's  linen  seems  better  laundered  than  in  the 
mills  that  grind  away  at  home. 

As  servants,  these  boys  of  ours  could  teach  much  to 
some  of  their  more  civilized  brethren  from  Ireland  or 
Nova  Scotia  now  holding  sway  in  American  fami- 
lies. They  take  bossing  well,  and  actually  expect  to 
have  their  heads  punched  if  things  go  wrong.  They 
don't  put  their  arms  akimbo  and  march  out  of  the 
house  if  we  mildly  suggest  that  the  quality  of  ants  in 
the  cake  or  the  water-pitcher  is  not  up  to  standard, 
and  actually  make  one  feel  at  liberty  to  require  any- 
thing of  them. 

And  speaking  of  ants,  these  little  creatures  are 
everywhere  ready  to  eat  your  house  or  your  dinner 


86  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

right  from  under  you.  The  legs  of  the  dining-table, 
the  ice-chest,  and  the  sideboard  must  be  islanded  in 
cups  of  kerosene,  and  even  the  feet  to  one's  bed  must 
undergo  the  same  treatment,  in  order  that  the  occu- 
pant may  awake  in  the  morning  to  find  something  of 
himself  left.  Cockroaches  are  almost  equally  fierce 
and,  endowed  with  wings,  these  creatures,  sometimes 
four  inches  long,  go  sailing  out  the  window  as  you 
close  your  eyes  and  try  to  step  on  them.  They  prowl 
around  at  night,  with  a  sort  of  clicking  sound,  seek- 
ing something  to  devour,  and  are  apparently  just  as 
satisfied  to  eat  the  glue  out  of  a  book-cover  as  they 
are  to  feed  on  the  rims  to  one's  cuffs  or  shirt-collars, 
moist  with  perspiration. 

What  the  ants  don't  swarm  over  the  cockroaches 
examine,  and  what  they  reject  seems  to  be  taken  in 
charge  by  the  heavy  green  mould  that  beards  one's 
shoes,  valise,  and  tweed  suits  at  the  slightest  sugges- 
tion of  wet  weather. 


Visit  of  the  Sagamore — Another  Mountain  Excursion — The  Caves  of 
Montalvan — A  Hundred-mile  View — A  Village  School — A  "  Fi- 
esta "  at  Obando — The  Manila  Fire-tree— A  Move  to  the  Seashore 
— A  Waterspout — Captain  Tayler's  Dilemma — A  Trip  Southward 
— The  Lake  of  Taal  and  its  Volcano — Seven  Hours  of  Poling — A 
Night's  Sleep  in  a  Hen-coop. 

May  9,  1894. 

THE  other  day  the  yacht  Sagamore  dropped  anchor 
in  the  bay,  her  owner  and  his  guests,  all  Harvard 
men,  having  got  thus  far  on  their  tour  around  the 
world.  I  was  sitting  on  the  Luneta,  Sunday  evening, 
when  I  saw  those  familiar  Harvard  hat-ribbons  com- 
ing, and  in  behalf  of  our  little  American  colony  wel- 
comed the  wearers  of  them  to  Manila.  In  return  for 
a  dinner  or  two  at  the  club  and  a  visit  to  the  huge 
cigar-factories,  where  three  or  four  thousand  opera- 
tors pound  away  all  day  at  the  fragrant  weed,  I  spent 
a  noon  and  afternoon  aboard  the  yacht,  glad  to  enjoy 
a  change  of  fare.  The  Sagamore  is  a  worthy  boat 
and  seems  to  be  loaded  up  with  gimcracks  and  curios 
of  all  classes  and  descriptions.  A  collector  would 
positively  be  squint-eyed  with  pleasure  to  see  the 
old  vases,  carved  wood-work,  plaques,  knives,  sabres, 

87 


88  YESTERDAYS   IN   THE  PHILIPPINES 

pots  and  kettles  that  her  passengers  have  picked  up 
all  along  the  way ;  and  it  is  indeed  the  only  method 
by  which  to  scour  curios  from  the  Orient.  The  boys 
thought  the  Luneta  was  the  best  place  in  its  way  they 
had  yet  seen,  and  it  was  as  much  as  I  could  do  to  get 
them  away  from  listening  to  the  artillery -band  and 
looking  at  the  crowds  of  people  in  carriages.  Three 
men  in  a  boat  of  the  Sagamore's  size  make  a  pretty 
small  passenger-list  for  a  pretty  long  voyage. 

We've  kept  up  our  record  as  tripsters  by  having 
gone  again  up  into  the  mountains,  seen  pounds  of 
scenery,  breathed  fine  air,  and  received  great  hospi- 
tality from  the  natives.  Monday  was  a  bank-holiday, 
so  late  on  Saturday  afternoon  four  of  us  started  in 
two-horse  carromatas  for  a  mountain  village  called 
Montalvan,  about  twenty  miles  from  Manila.  Two 
boys  had  been  sent  along  a  day  ahead,  with  provisions 
and  bedding,  to  find  a  native  hut  and  provide  for  our 
arrival.  We  had  a  delightful  drive  out  of  Manila, 
passed  through  numerous  native  villages,  forded  three 
rivers,  saw  a  fine  sunset,  and  at  about  eight  o'clock, 
after  a  three  hours'  journey,  pulled  up  at  a  little  na- 
tive house  situated  in  a  village  at  the  foot  of  a  lofty 
mountain-range.  The  occupants  seemed  willing  and 
glad  to  turn  out  of  their  little  shanty  and  put  it  at 
our  disposal,  and  we  were  very  comfortable.  The 
house  was  not  large,  but  it  had  a  very  neat  little  par- 


YESTERDAYS   IN   THE   PHILIPPINES  89 

lor — curious  name  for  a  room  out  here — and  in  the 
corner,  covered  with  a  light  bed-quilt,  stood  a  wax 
figure  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  with  the  usual  glass  tears 
running  down  her  cheeks.  The  family  of  about  four- 
teen slept  somewhere  out  in  the  rear  regions  of  the 
building,  leaving  us  to  spread  out  around  the  floor  of 
the  little  sola,  like  unmounted  club  sandwiches. 

One  of  the  party,  more  sensitive  than  the  rest,  woke 
about  one  in  the  morning  and  disturbed  us  by  find- 
ing some  four-inch  spiders  stringing  cobwebs  from 
the  end  of  his  nose  to  his  ear  and  down  to  one  finger. 
He  was  for  the  moment  embarrassed  enough  to  shout 
for  joy  and  throw  his  slippers  somewhere.  But  ex- 
cept for  this,  and  a  few  rats  that  now  and  then  tickled 
our  toes,  we  slept  well,  and  next  morning  before 
breakfast  we  went  down  to  the  shallow  river  for  a 
swim.  After  a  jolly  good  bath,  a  hearty  breakfast, 
and  a  few  preparations,  our  party  of  four,  with 
the  two  boys  and  two  guides,  started  up  a  steep 
valley  that  wound  in  among  lofty  mountains  to  the 
so-called  Caves  of  Montalvan. 

One  of  our  guides  was  the  principal  of  a  village 
school,  who  held  sway  over  a  group  of  little  Indian 
girls  under  a  big  mango-tree,  and  he  shut  up  shop  to 
join  our  expedition. 

In  about  two  hours  and  a  half  our  caravan  reached 
the  narrower  defile  that  pierced  two  mountains  which 


90  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

came  down  hobnobbing  together  like  a  great  gate, 
grand  and  picturesque.  From  a  large,  quiet  pool  just 
beneath  the  gates,  we  climbed  almost  straight  up  the 
mouth  of  the  stalactite  caves  that  run  no  one  knows 
how  far  into  the  mountains,  starting  at  a  point  about 
two  hundred  feet  above  the  river.  The  guides  made 
flare-torches  of  bamboos,  and  we  .entered  the  damp 
darkness,  bounded  by  white  limestone  walls  from 
which  hung  beautiful  stalactites  that  glistened  as  the 
light  struck  them.  In  we  went  for  a  long  way,  now 
crawling  on  hands  and  knees  and  now  stumbling  into 
large  vaulted  chambers.  Blind  bats  flew  about  and 
water  trickled.  It  was  ghostly,  uncanny,  but  inter- 
esting. It  seemed  as  if  we  were  going  into  the  very 
heart  of  the  mountain,  or  were  reading  "  King  Solo- 
mon's Mines,"  and  this  impression  was  further  carried 
out  when  we  came  to  a  small  subterranean  river  that 
coursed  down  through  a  dark  outlet  and  disappeared 
with  weird  gurglings.  Unpleasant  but  perhaps  imag- 
inary rumblings  suggested  that  a  sudden  earth- 
quake might  easily  block  our  exit,  and,  retracing  our 
steps,  we  breathed  more  freely  on  coming  to  the  first 
glimmer  of  light.  Once  more  in  the  air,  we  descended, 
took  a  good  swim  in  the  pool,  lunched,  and  lay  around 
for  an  hour.  After  another  bath  later  on,  we  donned 
our  sun-hats  and  trudged  homeward  over  the  long, 
rough  path.  A  good  walk,  a  good  supper,  a  little 


a 


YESTERDAYS   IN   THE   PHILIPPINES  91 

dancing  and  music  by  the  natives  who  occupied  our 
house,  and  we  went  to  sleep  upon  the  floor. 

Next  morning,  after  another  early  bath  in  the  river, 
our  party  started  to  climb  the  mountain  back  of  the 
town  for  a  little  experience  in  the  bush.  The  work 
wac  hard  and  warm,  but  at  the  top  came  the  reward 
of  a  superb  view  for  a  hundred  miles  around.  Manila 
and  the  great  plain,  the  bay  and  mountains  beyond, 
were  glorious  before  us,  and  behind  the  great  moun- 
tain wilds  that  reached  to  the  Pacific  stretched  off  and 
up  in  great  overlapping  slabs  of  heavy  greenness. 

The  plain  was  cut  up  into  the  regulation  checker- 
board farms  of  the  richest  looking  description,  and 
the  scene  was  very  much  like  an  English  one.  Far 
away  at  the  edge  of  the  Bay  could  be  seen  the  glisten- 
ing white  houses  and  steeples  of  Manila.  Away  to 
the  northwest  and  southwest  were  the  great  fertile 
stretches  of  country  that  produce  tons  and  tons  of 
rice  and  sugar,  reaching  to  the  sky  or  distant  moun- 
tains. We  had  luncheon  in  a  leafy  grotto ;  the  guides 
found  water,  and  brought  it  in  lengths  of  bamboo 
which  they  cut  down;  deer  ran  past  now  and  then 
down  below  us,  and  a  short  siesta  on  a  bed  of  leaves 
finished  off  our  morning's  work.  The  return  was  so 
steep  that  it  seemed  as  if  we  should  go  heels  over 
head.  However,  we  hung  on  to  the  long  grass,  and 
painted  our  once  white  suits  with  dust  in  the  effort  to 


92  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

reach  level  ground  again.  After  a  long  descent,  we 
came  to  the  big  mango-tree  where  the  rural  school 
was  in  session,  and  the  little  Filipinos  were  immediate- 
ly given  a  recess.  They  rushed  about,  got  benches 
and  water  for  us,  and  the  old  schoolmaster,  who  had 
left  his  wife  to  do  the  teaching  while  he  went  with  us, 
set  two  or  three  of  the  shavers  at  work  mopping  off 
his  ebony  skin.  Our  visit  at  the  school  was  in  the 
order  of  an  ovation.  The  children  opened  their  al- 
mond eyes  almost  to  the  extent  of  turning  them  into 
circles,  and  when  the  camera  was  pointed  at  them  for 
the  first  time  in  their  young  lives,  their  mouths  so  far 
followed  suit  that  recitations  had  to  be  suspended. 

After  thoroughly  disorganizing  discipline  in  the  es- 
tablishment, we  accompanied  the  half  naked  president 
of  the  seminary — who  had  been  our  guide  —  to  the 
river,  and  there  washed  off  such  of  the  day's  impres- 
sions as  went  easily  into  solution. 

And  finally,  after  returning  to  our  hut  for  tea,  we 
packed  up  our  baskets,  whistled  for  the  carromatas 
and  jolted  back  to  Manila  through  a  flood  of  dust 
and  sunset. 

Although  the  hot  season  is  trying  to  do  its  best  to 
scorch  us,  it  has  but  dismally  succeeded,  and  we  have 
had  scarcely  any  severe  weather  at  all.  The  thunder- 
showers,  harbingers  of  the  southwest  monsoon  and 
the  wet  season,  began  two  weeks  ago,  and  it  rains 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE   PHILIPPINES  93 

now  nearly  every  afternoon.  The  nights  are  all  de- 
lightfully cool,  and  a  coverlet  is  always  comfortable. 
The  sun  is  going  well  to  the  north  to  make  hot 
June  and  July  days  for  people  in  the  States,  and  our 
season  of  light  is  growing  shorter.  When  he  gets 
back  overhead  again,  heavy  clouds  will  protect  us 
from  his  attentions. 

Owing  to  the  outbreak  of  black  plague  or  something 
else  among  the  Chinese  in  Hong  Kong,  the  quarantine 
regulations  here  in  Manila  will  cause  the  steamer  by 
which  I  was  going  to  send  the  mail  to  miss  connec- 
tions. It  was  at  first  reported  there  were  three  thou- 
sand deaths  in  Hong  Kong  in  six  days,  but  I  believe 
they  have  now  taken  off  one  or  two  ciphers  from  that 
amount.  At  all  events  Manila  seems  to  be  below  the 
zone  of  this  peculiar  epidemic  and  is  much  better 
off  at  this  time  of  the  year  than  Hong  Kong,  which 
swelters  away  in  that  great  unventilated  scoop  in 
the  mountains. 

The  men  of  the  big  artillery-band  that  plays  at 
the  Luneta  twice  a  week  have  all  been  vaccinated 
lately,  and  are  too  broken  up  to  blow  their  trumpets. 
The  people  are  objecting,  because  the  infantry  band 
doesn't  make  nearly  as  good  music,  and  only  plays 
twice  a  week  at  most.  The  third  regimental  band  is 
still  fighting  the  savage  Moros  with  trombones  down 
at  the  south,  although  it  is  rumored  they  will  soon 


94 

return,  and  so  at  present  about  all  the  music  and 
fireworks  we  have  are  derived  from  the  thunder- 
storms that  play  around  the  sheet-iron  roofs  as  if 
they  meant  business.  But  in  spite  of  the  terrific 
cannonade  of  sound  and  the  blinding  flashes  of  light- 
ning nothing  seems  to  get  hit,  and  the  iron  roofs  may 
act  as  dispersers  of  the  electric  fluid  even  though  at- 
tracting it. 

June  6th. 

Several  days  ago,  a  number  of  us  went  up  the  rail- 
road line  to  see  a  "  fiesta  "  at  a  little  village  called 
Obando.  It  was  a  religious  observance  lasting  three 
days,  and  pilgrims  from  many  villages  thought  it 
their  duty  to  go  there  on  foot.  A  great  dingy  old 
church  with  buttressed  walls  yards  thick,  a  large 
plaza  shaded  by  big  trees,  and  beyond,  on  all  sides, 
the  native  houses.  Such  a  crowd  I  have  rarely  seen. 
Everybody  seemed  to  think  it  his  duty  to  dance; 
and  men,  women,  old  men  and  children,  mothers 
with  babies  and  papas  with  kids,  shouted,  jumped 
around,  danced,  joggled  each  other,  and  rumpussed 
about  until  they  were  blue  in  the  face,  dripping  with 
heat,  and  covered  with  dust.  Then  they  would  stop 
and  another  crowd  take  up  the  play.  As  the  circus 
proceeded  the  crowds  increased ;  the  old  church  was 
packed  with  worshippers  who  brought  candles,  and, 
receiving  a  blessing,  spent  an  hour  or  so  on  the 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE   PHILIPPINES  95 

stone  pavements  in  positions  of  contrite  humility. 
Around  the  walls  of  the  church  were  placed  realistic 
paintings  of  the  chromo  order,  representing  hell  and 
the  river  Styx,  and  as  the  natives  looked  at  portraits 
of  devils  driving  nails  into  the  heads  of  the  torment- 
ed, of  sulphurous  flames  that  licked  the  cheeks  of 
the  wicked  in  this  world,  or  serpents  that  twined 
themselves  into  square  knots  around  the  chests  of  a 
dozen  unfortunates,  and  of  countless  horned  demons 
who  plucked  out  the  heartstrings  of  the  condemned, 
they  counted  their  beads  with  renewed  vigor  and 
mumbled  long  prayers. 

Countless  little  booths  stood  like  mushrooms 
round  about  outside,  and  cheap  jewellery,  made  in 
Germany,  found  ready  sale.  The  dancing  and  shout- 
ing increased  as  the  sun  sank  in  the  west,  until  the 
ground  fairly  shook  and  the  dust  arose  in  vast  clouds. 
Around  the  edge  of  the  church,  under  the  porticoes, 
slept  sections  of  the  multitude  who  were  preparing 
themselves  to  take  part  in  the  proceedings  when 
others  were  tired  out.  It  was  a  motley  crowd,  a 
motley  scene,  and  an  unforgettable  collection  of  per- 
fumes. 

We  left  after  a  few  hours'  stay,  and  got  back  to 
Manila  to  find  water  a  foot  deep  in  some  of  the 
streets,  as  a  result  of  one  of  the  tropical  thunder- 
storms which  have  now  begun  in  real  earnest.  And 


96  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE   PHILIPPINES 

speaking  of  rain,  everything  is  looking  fresh  and 
green,  now  that  the  dusty  days  of  the  hot  season  are 
a  thing  of  the  past.  All  the  bamboo-trees  have 
leafed  out  anew,  flowering  shrubs  have  taken  life, 
and  all  nature  seems  to  have  had  a  bath. 

One  of  the  most  showy  trees  in  Manila  is  the  arbol 
defuego  (fire-tree)  and  this  product  of  nature  resem- 
bles a  large  oak  in  general  and  a  full-blown  Japanese 
cherry  blossom  in  particular.  Many  of  the  streets  in 
the  city  are  bordered  with  groups  of  these  fire-trees, 
of  large  and  stately  dimensions,  and  at  present  they 
are  simply  one  mass  of  huge  flaming  red  blossoms 
growing  thickly  together  and  showing  a  wonderful 
fire-like  carnation  color.  Scarcely  any  leaves  make 
their  appearance  on  these  trees  during  the  season  of 
blossom,  and  although  now  and  then  bits  of  green 
look  out  from  the  mass  of  red,  yet  the  general  effect 
is  a  vast  blaze  of  burning  color. 

We  have  left  our  country  house  on  the  hills  of  Santa 
Mesa,  and  have  moved  down  to  a  little  villa  on  the 
seacoast.  The  third  man  of  our  party,  like  many  of 
his  brother  Englishmen  who  are  burdened  with  small 
salaries  but  large  debit  balances,  has  at  last  decided 
to  save  money  and  room  at  his  office.  The  house  had 
too  many  regular  boarders  in  the  form  of  rats  and 
snakes,  was  too  large  and  too  far  off  for  the  two  of 
us  left,  and  we  decided  to  make  a  move  to  the  sea- 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  97 

shore  district.  Our  army  of  servants  successfully 
solved  the  transportation  problems  involved,  and 
we  are  now  settled  in  new  quarters.  Although  we 
miss  the  view  of  the  mountains,  and  even  the  paddy- 
fields,  we  now  get  the  salt  air  first  hand,  look  out  over 
the  waters  of  the  Bay,  and  are  lulled  to  sleep  by  the 
rhythmic  beating  of  the  waves  on  the  beach.  Our 
view  seaward  leads  the  eye  across  a  beautiful  garden 
belonging  to  one  of  the  rich  house-owners  living 
directly  on  the  shore  front,  and  the  green  of  the 
trees,  with"  the  scent  of  somebody  else's  flowers, 
temper  both  the  excess  of  glare  and  the  brackish 
qualities  of  the  sea-breeze. 

In  Malate,  where  we  now  are,  things  are  much 
civilized.  We  find  we  miss  the  snakes  in  the  roof, 
but  we  have  running  water  in  the  house  and  a 
shower-bath  in  the  bath-room  ;  two  rooms  on  the  first 
floor;  a  parlor,  two  bed-rooms,  dining-room,  large 
hallway,  kitchen,  bath  and  "boys'"  rooms  on  the 
second  floor ;  a  small  garden  at  the  front  and  a  stable 
at  the  back,  and  all  included  in  a  rent  of  $15  a 
month.  The  stable  accommodates  two  ponies,  and 
it  is  a  jolly  drive  down-town  in  the  morning  or  home 
in  the  evening.  The  road  leads  all  the  way  along  by 
the  sea,  Luneta,  and  Malecon  Promenade,  that  runs 
under  the  yawning  mouths  of  the  old  muzzle-loaders 
in  front  of  the  grim  walls  of  the  old  city,  between 


98  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE   PHILIPPINES 

them  and  the  beach.  The  salt-water  bath  in  the 
early  morning  is  often  very  pleasant,  though  the  tem- 
perature of  the  liquid  is  somewhat  too  high  to  be 
exhilarating.  Now  and  then  some  of  the  Britons 
living  in  the  neighborhood  will  issue  a  summons 
for  a  sunrise  swimming-party,  and  one  of  them  will 
perhaps  punctuate  the  ceremonies  by  supplying  a 
typical  breakfast  of  fresh  fish  and  boiled  rice,  on 
the  veranda  of  a  house  that  perhaps  overlooks  the 
Bay.  These  seaside  houses  are  particularly  cool 
and  fresh  now  that  the  winds  of  the  southwest  mon- 
soon come  blowing  into  the  front  windows  directly 
off  the  water,  but  later  on,  when  typhoons  become 
epidemic,  it  looks  as  if  we  should  have  the  wind  in 
more  than  wholesale  doses. 

June  12th. 

Although  the  San  Francisco  steamer  does  not  sail 
for  Hong  Kong  until  the  21st,  it  is  necessary,  on  ac- 
count of  this  quarantine  business,  to  post  our  letters 
in  the  Manila  office  to-day. 

Two  of  our  latest  vessels  have  come  in  together  and 
begun  to  take  in  their  cargoes  of  hemp  for  Boston. 
The  captains  are  ruddy-faced  veterans  who  seem  to 
have  taken  part  in  the  Civil  War.  One  of  them,  who 
wears  false  teeth  when  he  is  ashore,  and  hails  from 
New  Hampshire,  is  particularly  fond  of  cooling  off 
under  our  big  punka.  The  other  may  be  of  French 


o. 

Q. 

O 


O 


o 
O 


1 
o 


YESTEEDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  99 

descent,  though  he  comes  from  Ireland,  and  looks 
something  like  one  of  our  distinguished  Boston 
statesmen.  They  both  climb  up  the  stairs  to  our 
counting-room  daily,  call  our  big  clock  a  "  time  de- 
stroyer "  and  so  vie  with  each  other  in  their  efforts 
to  handle  the  truth  carelessly  that  it  is  often  a  ques- 
tion who  comes  off  victor  in  these  verbal  contests. 
However,  the  skipper  with  the  false  ivories  generally 
fails  to  get  the  last  word,  for  he  often  loses  his  suc- 
tion power  by  fast  talking,  and  has  to  leave  off  to 
prevent  his  teeth  from  slipping  down  his  oesoph- 
agus. Once  again  the  air  in  the  office  assumes  a 
nautical  aroma,  and  we  shall  be  well  employed  and 
well  talked  to  death.  A  whole  parcel  of  American 
ships  are  now  about  due,  and  the  Bay  will  liven  up 
again  with  the  Stars  and  Stripes  as  it  did  some  two 
months  ago. 

It  rains  every  afternoon  now,  at  about  a  quarter  past 
three,  and  just  after  tiffin  is  over  we  begin  to  look 
for  the  thunder-clouds  that  predict  the  coming  shower. 
The  other  day  a  huge  waterspout  formed  out  in  the 
Bay,  swirled  along,  gyrated  about,  scooted  squarely 
through  the  shipping,  and  broke  on  the  beach  between 
our  house  and  the  Luneta.  The  cloud  effects  were 
extremely  curious,  and  the  whole  display  was  a  num- 
ber not  generally  down  on  the  day's  programme. 

The  company  who  are  putting  in  the  new  electric 


100  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

lights  seem  to  be  doing  good  work,  and  it  is  expected 
that  everything  will  be  running  by  the  end  of  the 
year.  So  far,  Manila  has  been  favored  only  with  the 
dull  light  given  by  petroleum,  previously  brought  out 
from  New  York,  or  over  from  China,  and,  curiously 
enough,  the  empty  tins  in  which  the  oil  has  come 
seem  to  be  almost  as  valuable  as  their  contents.  They 
are  used  here  for  about  everything  under  the  sun,  the 
natives  cover  their  roofs  with  tin  from  these  sources, 
and  some  of  those  more  musically  inclined  even  make 
a  petroleum  can  up  into  a  trombone  or  cornet. 

Our  house  by  the  sea  continues  to  prove  very  pleas- 
ant, and,  peculiarly  enough,  the  surf  seems  to  beat  on 
the  beach  with  the  same  sound  that  it  has  on  the  New 
England  coast.  The  southwest  breeze  blows  strong 
from  the  Bay  each  afternoon,  and  the  cumulus  clouds 
are  becoming  heavier  and  more  numerous  day  by  day. 
The  artillery-band  still  favors  us  with  music  at  the 
Luneta,  but  before  long  it  looks  as  if  the  rains  would 
interrupt  the  afternoon  promenade. 

The  black  plague  at  Hong  Kong  does  not  seem 
to  diminish,  as  was  expected,  and  it  is  said  that  many 
people  are  leaving  the  city.  All  steamers  coming 
from  that  port  to  this  suffer  a  fortnight's  quarantine 
down  the  Bay,  and,  if  the  difficulty  continues  much 
longer,  Manila  markets  will  be  destitute  of  two  of 
their  chief  staples — mutton  and  potatoes — both  of 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  101 

which  have  to  come  across  from  China,  or  down  from 
Japan.  And  speaking  of  sheep,  Captain  Tayler,  of 
the  Esmeralda,  has  had  another  of  his  usual  inter- 
esting experiences  with  the  custom-house.  Just  as 
his  vessel,  fresh  from  quarantine  and  Hong  Kong, 
had  been  visited  by  the  doctor,  on  her  way  to  her 
berth  some  distance  up  the  river,  one  of  the  sheep 
died.  Rule  number  something-or-other  in  the  Code 
of  the  Sanidad  says  that  anything  or  anybody  dying 
during  the  day  must  be  buried  before  sundown, 
under  penalty,  for  neglect,  of  $50.  Rule  number 
something-else  in  the  Customs  Code,  however,  says 
that  the  captain  of  any  vessel  turning  out  cargo 
short  or  in  excess  of  the  amount  called  for  by  the 
manifest  shall  be  fined  $100  for  each  piece  too 
many  or  too  little.  If  my  good  friend,  the  Captain, 
buried  the  sheep,  he  would  be  fined  $100  at  the  cus- 
tom-house for  short  out-turn.  If  he  didn't  bury  it, 
the  Board  of  Health  would  come  down  on  him  for 
$50,  for  neglecting  regulations.  The  Captain,  being 
a  wise  man,  decided  that  it  was  more  politic  to  be  in 
the  right  with  the  doctor  than  with  the  officials  at 
the  custom-house,  and  at  some  considerable  ex- 
pense sent  the  sheep  on  shore  and  had  it  buried 
with  due  honors.  He  could  not  have  thrown  it  into 
the  river,  for  this  would  have  been  to  incur  an  addi- 
tional fine.  Next  morning,  he  presented  the  ship's 


102  YESTERDAYS   IN   THE   PHILIPPINES 

manifest  and  a  sheep's  tail  at  the  custom-house  and 
the  discharge  of  the  live  stock  was  begun.  But, 
tail  or  no  tail,  the  officials  found  the  ship  one  sheep 
short  and  the  Esmeralda  was  fined  $100.  Not  quite 
so  barefaced  as  the  swindling  of  the  poor  skipper 
who  came  over  from  China  with  a  load  of  paving- 
stones  for  Manila's  Street  Department.  His  vessel 
turned  out  seven  paving-stones  too  many,  and  the 
fine  was  $700. 

In  the  language  of  Daniel  Webster,  I  "  refrain  from 
saying  "  that  a  few  dollars  or  a  good  dinner,  bestowed 
upon  the  right  person,  in  Manila,  often  go  a  long  way 
toward  throwing  some  official  off  the  scent  in  his 
hungry  search  for  irregularity,  but  am  willing  to  admit 
that,  in  dealing  with  customs  men  who  frequently 
"  examine  "  cases  of  champagne  by  drinking  up  the 
contents  of  a  bottle  from  each  one  in  order  to  see 
that  the  liquid  is  not  chloroform  or  cologne,  one  must 
keep  his  purse  full,  his  talk  cool,  and  his  temper  on 
ice. 

June  25,  1894 

Last  Monday  was  the  monthly  bank-holiday  again, 
and  three  of  us  had  previously  decided  to  take  a  jour- 
ney southward  for  the  purpose  of  seeing  one  of 
Luzon's  active  volcanoes  and  getting  a  little  change 
of  air  and  "chow." 

So,  late  on  Saturday  afternoon,  we  went  aboard  a 


YESTEKDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  103 

dirty  little  steamer,  which  was  to  take  us  ninety  miles 
down  the  coast.  She  wasn't  as  big  as  a  good-sized 
tug  and  was  laden  with  multicolored  natives,  who 
were  on  their  way  back  to  the  provinces  after  a  brief 
shopping  expedition  to  the  capital.  We  were  soon 
sailing  out  past  the  fleet  of  larger  vessels  in  the 
Bay,  with  our  dull  prow  pointed  to  the  mouth  of 
the  great  inclosed  body  of  water.  At  nightfall  we 
reached  the  Corregidor  light-house,  at  the  Bay's  en- 
trance, and  thence  our  course  lay  to  the  south.  At 
half-past  two  that  night  our  craft  reached  a  place 
called  Taal.  During  our  trip  down  we  had  become 
acquainted  with  a  very  pleasant  Indian  sugar-plant- 
er, who  is  as  well  off  in  dollars  as  rich  in  hospitality. 
At  Taal  he  took  us  to  one  of  the  three  big  houses 
he  owns,  and,  although  only  three  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  gave  us  a  delicious  breakfast.  We  talked 
and  chatted  away  comfortably,  and  as  the  first  streaks 
of  dawn  appeared  I  played  several  appropriate  se- 
lections on  one  of  the  two  very  good-toned  pianos 
belonging  to  his  establishment.  This  brought  out  his 
family,  and  before  we  set  out  for  the  river  from  which 
our  start  to  the  volcano  was  to  be  made,  quite  a  social 
gathering  was  in  progress. 

The  natives  all  through  the  islands  seemed  indeed 
most  courteous  and  hospitable  to  foreigners,  and 
although  a  Spaniard  hesitates  to  show  his  face  out- 


104  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

side  of  any  of  the  garrison  towns,  yet  any  of  the  other 
European  bipeds  is  known  in  a  minute  and  well  treated. 
Our  good  friend  at  Taal  went  so  far  as  to  harness  up 
a  pair  of  ponies  and  drive  us  down  to  the  river  at  four 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  we  found  a  large  banca, 
previously  ordered,  waiting  to  take  us  up  to  the  Lake 
of  Taal  and  across  to  the  volcano. 

Our  banca  was  of  good  size,  was  rowed  by 
seven  men  and  steered  by  one,  and  had  a  little 
thatched  hen-coop  arrangement  over  the  stern,  to  keep 
the  sun  off  our  heads.  We  had  brought  one  "  boy  " 
with  us  from  Manila,  with  enough  "  chow  "  to  last  for 
two  days,  and  soon  all  was  stowed  away  in  our  floating 
tree-trunk.  The  river  was  shallow,  and  for  most  of 
the  six  miles  of  its  length  poles  were  the  motive- 
power.  It  was  slow  work,  and  both  wind  and  current 
were  hostile.  In  due  course,  however,  the  lake  came 
into  view,  and  in  its  centre  rose  the  volcano,  smoking 
away  like  a  true  Filipino.  The  wind  was  now 
blowing  strong  and  unfavorable,  and  we  saw  that  it 
was  not  going  to  be  an  easy  row  across  the  six  or 
seven  miles  of  open  water  to  the  centre  island.  But 
the  men  worked  with  a  will,  and  although  the  choppy 
waves  slopped  over  into  our  roost  once  or  twice  so 
jocosely  that  it  almost  seemed  as  if  we  should  have  to 
turn  back,  we  kept  on.  Benefitting  by  a  lull  or  two, 
our  progress  was  gradual,  and  at  half  after  twelve, 


YESTERDAYS   IN   THE  PHILIPPINES  105 

seven  hours  from  Taal,  we  landed  on  the  volcanic 
island  and  prepared  for  an  ascent. 

The  lake  of  Taal  is  from  fifteen  to  twenty  miles 
across,  is  surrounded  by  high  hills  and  mountains, 
for  the  most  part,  and  has  for  its  centre  the  volcanic 
island  upon  whose  edges  rise  the  sloping  sides  of  an 
active  cone  a  thousand  feet  high.  The  lake  is  cer- 
tainly good  to  look  at,  reminding  one  forcibly  of 
Loch  Lomond,  and  the  waters,  shores,  and  moun- 
tains around  all  seem  to  bend  their  admiring  gaze  on 
the  little  volcano  in  its  centre. 

Filling  our  water-jug,  we  set  off  up  the  barren  lava- 
slopes  of  this  nature's  safety-valve,  sweltering  under 
the  stiff  climb  in  the  hot  sun.  Happily,  the  view  bet- 
tered each  moment,  the  smell  of  the  sulphur  became 
stronger,  and  we  forgot  present  discomfort  in  anticipa- 
tions of  the  revelation  to  come.  After  banging  our 
shins  on  the  particularly  rough  lava-beds  of  the  as- 
cent, near  the  top,  we  saw  a  great  steaming  crater 
yawning  below  us  and  sending  up  clouds  of  sulphur- 
ous steam.  In  the  centre  of  this  vast,  dreary  Circus 
Maximus  rose  a  flat  cone  of  red-hot  squashy  material, 
and  out  of  it  ascended  the  steam  and  smoke.  All 
colors  of  the  rainbow  played  with  each  other  in  the 
sun,  and  farther  to  the  right  was  a  boiling  lake  of 
fiery  material  that  was  variegated  enough  to  suit  an 
Italian  organ-grinder. 


106  YESTERDAYS  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

It  was  all  very  weird,  and  if  we  liad  not  been  so 
lazy  we  should  probably  have  descended  farther  into 
this  laboratory  of  fire  than  we  did.  But  it  was  too 
hot  to  make  matches  of  ourselves  and  the  air  smelt 
like  the  river  Styx  at  low  tide.  So  we  were  con- 
tented with  a  good  view  of  the  wonders  of  the  vol- 
cano from  a  distance,  enjoyed  the  panorama  from 
the  narrow  encircling  apex-ridge,  and  cooled  off  in 
the  smart  breeze.  Once  more  at  the  lake,  and  it 
was  not  long  before  we  were  in  it,  tickling  our  feet 
on  the  rough  cinders  of  the  bottom.  The  bath  was 
most  rejuvenating  after  a  hot  midday  climb,  and 
just  to  sit  in  the  warmish  water  up  to  one's  neck 
gave  one  a  sort  of  mellow  feeling  like  that  presum- 
ably possessed  by  a  ripe  apple  ready  to  fall  on  the 
grass. 

The  wind  was  now  fresher  than  ever  and  more  un- 
favorable to  our  course.  The  captain  of  the  tree- 
trunk,  in  a  tone  quite  as  authoritative  as  that  manip- 
ulated by  the  commander  of  an  ocean  liner,  said  we 
could  not  proceed  for  some  time,  so  the  boy  arranged 
the  provisions  and  we  had  a  meal  in  our  little  hen- 
coop. After  a  provoking  wait  until  four  o'clock  the 
old  banco,  was  pushed  off  again  and  the  struggle  re- 
newed. The  seven  men,  who  had  now  been  poling 
and  rowing  since  early  morning,  seemed  pretty  well 
beat,  but  there  was  no  shelter  on  the  volcanic  islands 


_b« 

J? 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  107 

and  we  had  to  push  on.  The  other  shore  looked  far 
away  and  we  slopped  forward  sluggishly.  The  sun 
set,  the  moon  rose,  and  still  we  were  buffeting  with 
the  choppy  waves.  It  reminded  me  a  good  deal  of 
the  sea  of  Galilee  ;  and  it  did  seem  as  if  the  dickens 
himself  was  blowing  at  us  and  trying  to  keep  us  from 
ever  getting  to  that  farther  shore. 

At  last  we  reached  the  lee  of  a  lofty  perpendicular 
island  part  way  across  the  lake,  and,  although  its 
upright  sides  offered  no  chance  to  land,  yet  they  kept 
off  that  southeast  wind.  The  men  shut  their  teeth 
hard,  and  in  due  course  moved  our  bark  around  the 
point  and  out  into  more  moonlight  and  breeze.  The 
lights  and  shadows  on  the  great  lump  of  rock  standing 
a  thousand  feet  out  of  the  water  behind  us  were  worth 
looking  at,  and  in  many  places  huge  basaltic  columns 
seemed  to  be  holding  up  the  mass  above.  Not  to 
put  as  much  labor  into  these  lines  as  our  men  put 
into  the  oars,  at  half  after  ten  we  came  to  land, 
seven  hours  from  the  shore  of  the  volcano,  a  dis- 
tance which  in  fair  wind  ought  to  be  covered  in  a  lit- 
tle over  one. 

On  shore  there  seemed  to  be  about  four  huts,  two 
pig-sties,  and  nothing  more.  Stared  at  by  a  crowd 
of  natives  whom  our  arrival  suddenly  incubated  from 
somewhere,  and  who  swarmed  down  to  see  who  we 
were,  we  talked  with  our  boatman,  but  only  succeeded 


108  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

in  finding  out  that  we  had  come  to  a  place  not  down 
on  the  map  or  on  the  highroad  to  the  next  village 
whither  we  were  bound.  It  was  simply  a  collection 
of  huts,  children,  and  pigs,  situated  at  the  lake's  edge 
and  connected  with  the  outer  world  by  a  foot-path 
that  led  up  over  the  hills  eight  miles  to  the  nearest 
pueblo.  To  walk  those  eight  miles  at  eleven  o'clock 
was  out  of  the  question,  and  to  sleep  in  one  of  those 
little  dirty  huts  ashore  was  just  as  bad.  The  crowd 
of  natives  had  grown,  and  so,  to  avoid  being  over- 
run with  the  eminently  curious,  we  pushed  off  from 
shore  and  anchored  out  in  the  lake,  to  eat  a  little 
"  chow  "  and  decide  what  to  do.  Weariness  tempered 
our  decision,  which  was  to  sleep  where  we  were,  in  the 
banco,,  under  the  hen-coop,  and,  having  made  it  known 
to  our  trusty  but  hard-looking  crew,  they  fell  down 
like  shots  and,  in  less  than  a  minute,  were  asleep  in 
all  sorts  of  jackstraw  positions.  One  slept  on  the 
oars,  another  on  the  poles,  a  third  on  our  collec- 
tion of  volcanic  rocks,  a  fourth  in  the  bottom  of  the 
boat,  a  fifth  sitting  up,  and  a  sixth — I  don't  know 
where. 

We  three  lay  down  side  by  side  in  the  little  cooped- 
over  roost,  and  found  there  was  just  room  to  reside  like 
sardines  in  a  box.  Our  feet  were  out  under  the  stars 
at  one  side,  our  heads  at  the  other,  and  there  we 
were,  and  there  we  slept,  in  an  unknown  wilderness. 


YESTEEDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  109 

Though  no  one  could  change  his  position  we  all  rested 
fairly  well,  and  nothing  happened  to  mar  the  beauty 
of  the  night.  As  the  sun  reddened  the  east,  feeling 
more  like  awakened  chickens  than  anything  else,  we 
packed  up,  paid  out  some  of  the  heavy  dollars,  that 
made  each  of  us  feel  like  sinkers  on  a  fish-line,  and 
loaded  what  little  luggage  we  had  upon  a  bony  pony 
ashore.  Adieus  were  said  to  the  lake  and  to  our  crew, 
and  our  little  caravan  started  up  a  broad  foot-path  for 
the  village  of  Tanauan,  about  eight  miles  away.  It 
was  a  long  walk,  on  no  refreshment  save  a  night's 
sleep  in  a  hen-coop,  but  after  passing  over  hills  and 
dales,  by  nipa  huts  of  all  sizes  and  descriptions, 
and  after  being  stared  at  by  curious  natives,  we 
arrived  at  our  destination,  a  good-sized  village,  in 
two  and  a  half  hours.  We  responded  to  an  invitation 
of  the  captain  of  the  pueblo,  to  take  possession  of  his 
house,  and  got  up  a  very  decent  breakfast  out  of  our 
fast  depleting  stock.  The  old  captain  treated  us  most 
cordially,  and  after  a  three-hours'  stay  helped  us  to 
load  ourselves  and  our  chattels  aboard  two  stout- 
wheeled,  carromatas  each  hitched  to  two  ponies. 

Off  again,  once  more,  our  course  was  shaped  over- 
land toward  the  other  great  lake  up  back  of  Manila, 
by  which  the  return  was  to  be  made.  The  road  was 
fearful,  the  ruts  two  feet  deep  in  places,  and  the  bad 
sections  far  more  numerous  than  the  good  pieces. 


110  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

We  got  stuck  in  the  mud,  had  to  pry  our  conveyances 
and  the  ponies  out,  and  I  fear  did  not  enjoy  the  beau- 
ties of  the  rather  tame  scenery  on  the  way.  At  last 
the  crest  of  a  hill  brought  the  Laguna  de  Bay  in  sight, 
and  in  less  than  an  hour  we  reached  the  village  of 
Calamba,  on  its  shores.  A  shabby  little  native  house 
was  put  at  our  disposal  after  we  boldly  walked  up 
and  took  possession  of  it ;  a  swarm  of  children  were 
shoved  out  of  the  one  decent  room,  and  in  a  short 
time  our  boy  was  giving  us  canned  turtle-soup  and 
herrings.  In  the  afternoon  we  merely  lounged  about 
the  town  and  took  a  swim  in  the  lake,  while  in  the 
evening,  early  after  the  very  good  little  dinner  got- 
ten up  by  our  servant  there  was  nothing  to  do  but  to 
turn  in,  even  though  the  house  was  surrounded  by  the 
curious,  who  had  looked  in  at  the  windows  to  watch 
people  dining  with  knives,  forks,  plates,  and  napkins. 
The  floor  of  our  room  was  of  bamboo  slats,  just 
below  whose  many  openings  were  four  fighting-cocks 
and  when  bed-time  came  we  were  tired  enough  to 
tumble  down  on  the  canes  just  as  we  stood.  The 
cock  who  sang  out  of  tune  woke  us  at  about  sunrise 
Tuesday  morning,  and  after  one  more  swim  in  the 
lake  we  packed  up  our  traps  and  prepared  ourselves 
to  take  the  Httle  Manila  steamer  that  left  at  eight 
o'clock  on  its  thirty-mile  return  trip.  The  sail  down 
the  lake  and  into  the  Pasig  Biver  was  cool,  delightful, 


YESTERDAYS  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  111 

and  without  incident,  and  at  noon  Tuesday  we  pulled 
up  at  the  wharf  at  Manila,  having  completed  an 
almost  perfect  circle  of  travel  one  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  in  circumference,  to  be  heartily  congratulated 
on  having  successfully  made  a  trip  which  few  per- 
form but  many  covet.  My  own  cane  sleeping  ma- 
chine seemed  good  again  after  hen-coops  and  bamboo 
floors,  and  smooth  roads  and  civilization  far  better 
than  ruts  and  rickety  carromatas. 


VI 

First  Storm  of  the  Rainy  Season— Fourth  of  July— Chinese  "  Chow  " 
Dogs— Crullers  and  Pie  and  a  Chinese  Cook — A  Red-Letter  Day 
— The  China- Japan  War — Manila  Newspapers — General  Blanco 
and  the  Archbishop — An  American  Fire-Engine  and  its  Lively 
Trial— The  Coming  of  the  Typhoon — Violence  of  the  Wind — 
The  Floods  Next — Manila  Monotony. 

July  4th. 

THE  mails  have  been  badly  snarled  up  lately,  and 
although  nobody  has  received  any  letters  for  nearly 
two  weeks,  none  are  expected  for  about  ten  days. 
The  other  morning  began  the  first  real  storm  of  the 
rainy  season,  and  we  came  very  near  having  a  bad 
typhoon,  but  someone  turned  the  switch,  and  it  swirled 
up  the  back  coast  on  the  Pacific  side  and  crossed 
through  a  notch  in  the  mountains,  some  distance 
to  the  north  of  Manila,  giving  the  city  only  four 
days  of  monstrous  winds  and  floods  of  rain.  The 
streets  were  two  feet  deep  with  water  in  the  business 
section,  and  down  at  our  house  by  the  sea  the  wind 
blew  so  hard  that  it  carried  the  tin  from  our  roof  off 
to  visit  the  next  suburb.  Then  it  was  that  those 
sturdy  windows  of  small  sea-shells  set  into  hardwood 

lattice   seemed  far  more  secure  than  glass,  and  I 

112 


YESTEKDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  113 

doubt  if  anything  less  well  constructed  would  have 
stood  the  blast  that  surged  in  from  the  broad  bay. 

Going  down-town  in  the  morning,  my  carriage  was 
slid  clean  across  the  road  by  the  force  of  the  wind, 
and  once  it  seemed  as  if  I  might  be  lifted  up  into 
the  low  clouds  that  scudded  close  to  the  tops  of  the 
bamboo-trees.  Huge  seas  came  tumbling  ashore  on 
the  beach,  and  the  vessels  in  the  great  exposed  Bay 
had  all  they  could  do  to  hang  to  their  anchors,  as 
the  surf  sometimes  dashed  as  high  as  their  lower 
foreyards. 

The  natives  never  carry  umbrellas  in  the  rain,  but 
march  along  and  do  not  seem  to  mind  getting  wet  to 
the  skin.  They  do  indeed  look  bedraggled  in  their 
thin  clothes,  that  cling  like  sticking-plaster,  and  it 
seems  as  if  they  would  get  the  fever.  During  the 
present  blow,  the  single  pony  hitched  to  a  tram-car 
often  found  his  load  moving  him  astern,  and  it  was 
only  by  leaving  the  whole  car  wide  open,  so  that  the 
air  could  have  free  passage  through  from  end  to  end 
and  side  to  side,  that  he  now  and  then  made  head- 
way against  the  blast.  This  was  not  pleasant  for 
the  passengers,  but  made  less  demand  on  the  motive- 
power.  The  bands  at  the  Luneta  have  played  when 
they  got  a  chance,  but  the  wind  howls  in  from  the 
Bay,  as  a  rule,  louder  than  the  tunes  bowl  out  of 
their  brass  instruments. 


114  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

To-day  seems  to  be  the  Glorious  Fourth,  and  my 
colleague  and  I  have  just  come  back  from  the  ship- 
ping, where  the  Captain  of  the  Helen  Brewer  asked 
us  to  eat  a  celebrative  dinner.  All  the  ships  in  the 
Bay  were  dressed  with  flags,  and  the  Brewer,  which 
possessed  more  than  her  share,  had  a  long  line 
stretched  from  the  bowsprit  over  the  three  masts 
down  to  the  stern.  Everybody  was  interested  in 
the  feast,  and  the  Captain  with  the  false  teeth,  who 
comes  from  New  Hampshire,  sent  over  a  goose  and 
some  mince-pies.  Eight  of  us  sat  down  in  the  cozy 
saloon  and  partook  of  a  meal  altogether  too  hearty 
for  the  climate.  The  day  was  cool  and  overcast,  and 
we  spent  a  lazy  afternoon  on  deck,  listening  to  yarns 
told  by  two  old  salts  who  seemed  to  have  had  more 
than  their  share  of  wrecks,  typhoons,  and  other  ad- 
ventures. 

When  we  came  ashore,  at  about  sunset,  there  was 
gathered  up  from  the  remains  of  the  feast  the  "  seven 
basketsful,"  and  we  each  went  back  in  the  launch, 
decorated  with  a  bag  of  doughnuts  under  one  arm 
and  a  bag  of  mince-pies  under  the  other. 

One  of  our  small  family  of  dogs  was  run  over  by  the 
tram-car  the  other  morning,  in  front  of  the  house,  and 
now  rests  in  peace  in  a  little  grave  down  on  the  beach, 
hard  by  the  rhythmic  cadence  of  the  waves.  His 
little  brother,  who  was  suffering  at  the  time  from  the 


CQ 


YESTERDAYS  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  115 

distemper,  was  so  grieved  at  the  loss  that  he  too 
speedily  faded  away,  and  now  lies  close  beside  the 
other  victim  of  circumstances.  On  the  tombstone  is 
a  touching  epitaph: 

"  Pompey  and  Nettie,  here  they  lie ; 
Born  to  live,  they  had  to  die. 
The  wheels  of  fate  ran  over  one, 
The  other  was  by  grief  undone." 

Most  of  the  large  army  of  dogs  that  make  a  Manila 
night  hideous  are  of  that  mongrel  order,  which  is  al- 
ways looking  for  something  to  eat,  but  now  and  then 
one  sees  a  good  many  of  the  so-called  Chinese 
"  chow  "-dogs  about  the  streets,  and  with  their  black 
tongues,  long  hair,  and  peculiar  bushy  tails  that  curl 
sharply  up  over  their  backs,  they  are  quite  as  interest- 
ing, as  unaffectionate.  Over  in  China  they  make  very 
good  eating  up  to  the  age  of  three  months,  and  from 
this  fact  derive  the  "chow"  part  of  their  name.  Al- 
though they  are  very  susceptible  to  changes  of  local- 
ity and  climate,  we  are  now  making  negotiations  to 
have  one  brought  over  to  take  the  place  of  the  dear 
departed  eulogized  above.  And  later,  I  may  even 
try  the  experiment  of  having  one  for  Sunday  dinner — 
if  he  doesn't  make  a  good  pet. 

The  doughnuts  which  I  brought  home  from  the 
Brewer  have  proved  very  interesting  to  my  cook,  and 
I  have  been  obliged  to  count  them  each  day  for 


116  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

purposes  of  security.  He  now  watches  me  closely 
as  I  make  away  with  one  or  two  for  breakfast,  to  see 
just  what  effect  these  marvellous  looking  "  fried  holes  " 
have  on  my  intellect.  I  notice  he  looks  to  see  if 
there  are  any  crumbs  left,  from  which  he  might 
gather  an  inkling  as  to  the  composition  of  these 
curios ;  but  so  far  there  haven't  been  any  crumbs.  As 
he  is  cooking  for  us  now,  instead  of  the  Chinese  gen- 
tleman that  we  originally  had,  this  curiosity  is  but  nat- 
ural, and  some  day  he  will  probably  try  to  furnish  us 
with  the  native-made  article.  In  fact  he  has  already 
tried  the  experiment  of  concocting  a  mince-pie  after 
the  general  appearance  of  one  of  the  earlier  donations 
made  by  a  captain  in  the  Bay,  and  the  result  was 
worthy  of  description.  As  I  arranged  to  measure 
the  original  pie  after  each  meal,  before  locking  it  up 
in  our  safe,  in  order  to  protect  it  from  disappearing, 
my  faithful  cook  could  only  guess  as  to  its  composition 
by  sundry  glances  from  afar.  But  being  of  an  inven- 
tive mind  he  conceived  the  idea  of  chopping  up  some 
well-done  roast  beef,  mixing  with  it  some  sugar  and 
raisins,  roofing  it  over  with  a  thatch  of  pastry,  and 
serving  it  for  dessert.  And  then  as  we  came  to  the 
course  in  question  he  stood  in  the  doorway  waiting  for 
our  verdict.  His  effort  was  worthy  of  all  praise,  but 
his  pie  was  damnable,  and  pieces  of  it  went  sailing 
out  the  windows. 


YESTERDAYS  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES          117 

July  28th. 

On  the  20th  instant  a  steamer  arrived  from  Hong 
Kong,  and  had  the  honor  of  being  the  first  vessel  to 
come  in  from  that  port  in  thirty  days.  She  was  sup- 
posed to  have  three  American  mails  aboard,  but  it 
turned  out  that  they  were  down  to  arrive  by  the 
vessel  coming  in  six  days  later.  I  came  to  the  office 
the  other  morning,  and  looking  toward  my  desk, 
found  it  almost  invisible.  It  looked  as  if  somebody 
in  the  neighborhood  were  the  editor  of  a  paper,  and 
as  if  all  the  spring  poets  in  the  universe  had  sent 
their  manuscripts  for  inspection.  The  desk  groaned 
beneath  the  bulky  chaos  of  three  mails  from  the 
United  States,  delayed  in  transmission  by  the  black 
plague,  and  fumigated  together  down  the  bay.  But  no 
sooner  had  we  gotten  through  the  first  course  of  an 
epistolary  feast  than  the  captain  of  a  large  four- 
masted  ship  shuffled  into  the  room  and  deposited  a 
huge  pot  of  steaming  baked  beans,  just  fresh  from 
his  steward's  galley-stove,  on  the  table.  What  with 
beans,  letters,  magazines,  and  comic  papers,  it  might 
be  said  our  day  was  a  red-letter  one. 

The  other  day  my  colleague  and  I  took  dinner  off 
aboard  the  Nagato  Maru,  a  smart  steamer  just  in 
from  Japan,  and  captained  by  an  American  who 
knows  what  it  is  to  set  a  good  table.  It  seems  that 
the  China-Japan  war  has  actually  broken  out  in  all 


118  YESTEEDATS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

its  glory,  and  as  there  is  a  vague  rumor  that  a  Chi- 
nese war-ship  is  waiting  outside  to  capture  this  very 
same  steamer,  she  is  going  to  stay  here  for  awhile. 

The  Japanese  have  sunk  several  Chinese  transport 
ships  already,  and  one  of  the  unfortunate  craft  used 
to  come  here  to  Manila.  In  other  directions  the 
Chinese  are  said  to  have  beaten  the  Japs  badly  on 
land,  but  over  in  this  slow  old  moth-eaten  place  the 
daily  papers  will  publish  cablegrams  from  Spain  by 
the  page,  that  give  out  nothing  but  official  stuff  and 
Government  appointments;  and  when  it  comes  to 
something  of  real  interest,  like  a  war,  they  will  either 
be  without  any  news  whatever,  or  tell  the  whole  story 
wrong  side  out  in  a  single  line,  that  may  or  may  not 
be  true.  And  so  you  are  probably  getting  better 
news  of  this  whole  affair,  twelve  thousand  miles  away, 
than  we  are,  who  are  almost  on  the  field  of  action. 

Our  Manila  papers  consist  of  four  pages,  the  first 
two  of  which  are  especially  reserved  for  advertise- 
ments. Half  of  one  of  the  inside  leaves  is  likewise 
reserved,  and  the  remaining  half  is  covered  with 
blocks  full  of  gloomy  sentiments  which  relate  to  the 
decease  of  this  or  that  person.  There  is  a  little  black 
frame  of  type  around  each  square,  and  at  the  top  is 
a  cross,  with  a  "R.  I.  P."  or  "D.  O.  M."  under  it. 
Below  comes  the  name  of  the  defunct,  with  hour, 
minute,  day,  and  year  of  his  birth  and  death,  and  be- 


YESTERDAYS  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  119 

low  his  virtues  are  extolled  and  his  friends  invited 
to  pray  for  the  repose  of  his  soul.  Every  year,  each 
person  that  has  died  the  year  before  has  his  anniver- 
sary, both  in  church  and  in  the  newspapers ;  and 
when  you  recollect  that  out  of  a  population  of  350,000 
a  good  many  depart  each  twelvemonth,  it  is  hard  to 
see  why  the  whole  paper  shouldn't  consist  of  these 
notices.  The  other  inside  page  contains  the  news, 
and  we  learn  that  a  bad  odor  has  been  discovered  up 
some  side-street ;  that  a  dog  fell  into  the  river  and 
was  drowned ;  that  a  perfumery  store  has  received  a 
new  kind  of  liquefied  scent ;  that  it  will  probably  rain 
in  some  part  of  the  island  during  the  day ;  and  that 
the  band  on  the  Luneta  ought  not  to  be  frightened 
off  merely  by  a  few  drops  that  fall  from  some  passing 
cloud.  And  so  it  goes  until  the  French  or  English 
mail  comes  in,  and  then  the  progressive  dailies  copy 
all  the  news  they  can  find,  out  of  the  foreign  papers, 
and  serve  it  up  cold,  cet.  one  month. 

I  met  General  Blanco,  Governor  of  the  islands,  the 
other  evening,  and  he  seemed  to  enjoy  the  good  music 
and  good  supper  which  one  of  our  popular  bank-man- 
agers and  his  wife  provided  for  some  of  us  in  the  col- 
ony on  the  occasion  of  a  birthday.  He  is  an  elderly 
man,  and  kindly,  and  appears  milder  in  disposition 
than  would  seem  advisable  for  one  occupying  so 
important  a  position.  I  should  think  he  might  let 


120  YESTEKDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

some  of  those  sharp-eyed  little  ministers  of  his  run 
him,  and  he  appears  almost  too  modest,  too  kind- 
hearted,  to  be  the  ruler  that  he  is.  Suffice  to  say  the 
General  is  modest  in  dress  and  modest  in  manner. 
He  often  walks  up  and  down  the  Malecon  promenade 
by  the  Bay  in  the  afternoon,  saluting  everyone  that 
passes,  and  when  the  vesper  bells  ring  out  the  hour 
of  prayer  from  one  of  the  old  churches  inside  the  city 
walls  he  stops,  removes  his  tall  gray  stove-pipe  and, 
as  do  a  host  of  other  pedestrians,  bows  his  head.  To 
tell  the  truth  he  has  little  of  the  Spanish  aspect  about 
him  and  is  just  the  kind  of  a  man  one  would  go  up 
and  speak  to  on  the  Teutonic  or  Campania.  In  sharp 
contrast  is  he  to  the  Archbishop,  who  drives  about 
behind  his  fine  white  horses  and  looks  as  keen  as 
well-nourished.  But  who  knows!  Appearances  are 
deceitful,  and  foolish  he  who  trusts  to  them. 

August  llth. 

Two  steamers  have  just  come  in  from  Hong  Kong 
and  are  tied  up  in  quarantine  down  at  Marivelis,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Bay.  The  mail  ought  to  be  here  in 
forty-eight  hours,  but  two  days  is  a  very  short  time 
to  give  Manila  postal  authorities,  for  they  really  are 
slow  enough  to  desire  four — one  in  which  to  make  up 
their  minds  to  send  a  launch,  two  in  which  to  go, 
three  in  which  to  come  back,  and  four  in  which  to 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  121 

distribute  the  results  of  their  camphorated  fumiga- 
tion. 

The  most  noteworthy  thing  that  has  happened  in 
the  way  of  excitement  since  the  last  mail  was  the 
operating  of  the  new  American  fire-engine,  which  we 
imported  from  the  States  for  the  wealthy  proprietor 
of  our  hemp-press,  who  is  part  Spaniard,  part  native, 
and  part  Chinese.  It  seems  he  was  up  in  our  office 
one  day,  and  on  the  centre-table  saw  a  catalogue  con- 
taining pictures  of  a  collection  of  our  modern  fire- 
fighters. He  asked  what  those  things  were,  and,  on 
being  told  that  they  were  used  to  put  out  fires,  said 
he  wanted  one  at  once,  the  biggest  we  could  get  him, 
in  order  that  he  might  reduce  the  insurance  he  was 
paying  on  his  large  store-houses  and  still  go  on  col- 
lecting the  premiums  from  those  whose  goods  were  in 
his  charge. 

Although  ours  is  an  exporting  business,  and  we  do 
not  know  much  about  fire-engines,  yet  the  occasion 
seemed  auspicious,  the  prospect  of  payment  sure,  and 
the  outlook  interesting.  The  result  was  that  we  for- 
warded the  order  to  New  York  by  the  first  mail,  and 
the  other  day,  after  four  months  of  waiting,  the  pieces 
of  the  big  engine  came  over  on  the  Esmeralda,  in  big 
cases.  They  were  very  heavy,  and  the  natives  began 
the  exhibition  by  nearly  dropping  the  boiler  into  the 
river  as  they  attempted  to  hoist  it  into  a  lighter.  To 


122          YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

skip  over  the  difficulties  which  were  encountered  in 
hoisting  the  cases  onto  the  quay  in  front  of  the  offices 
of  our  well-to-do  purchaser,  we  come  to  the  men- 
tal hardships  that  were  encountered  in  putting  the 
machine  together ;  for  no  one  in  Manila  had  ever  seen 
a  Yankee  fire-engine  before,  and  although  we  had  a 
full  description  of  the  complicated  mechanism,  with 
drawings  of  the  parts,  and  numbers  where  each  piece 
was  to  fit  onto  some  other  piece,  there  was  no  one  in 
town  who  could  help  us  much  in  getting  it  into  work- 
ing order. 

Fortunately,  the  hemp  business  was  dull  and  my 
colleague  and  I  were  thus  enabled  to  give  more  atten- 
tion to  this  Chinese  puzzle  than  if  the  fibre  market 
had  been  booming.  The  red  wheels  with  gold  stripes 
were  the  first  thing  to  be  adjusted,  and  the  eyes  of 
the  onlookers  who  happened  to  be  strolling  up  and 
down  the  quay  opened  to  large  dimensions  as  the 
covering  was  stripped  from  the  nickel-plated  boiler 
and  the  process  of  establishment  went  on.  At  last 
the  big  machine  was  on  its  feet,  with  valves  and  gear 
adjusted,  and  with  the  slight  assistance  which  we  got 
from  a  Spanish  engineer  who  knew  something  about 
marine  machinery,  we  found  out  that  the  whistle 
ought  not  to  be  screwed  onto  the  safety-valve. 

Several  Englishmen  who  happened  to  come  by  in 
the  early  stages  of  our  efforts  made  sarcastic  com- 


•s   2 


3    Z* 
_r^       r,     r* 


YESTEKDAYS   IN  THE   PHILIPPINES  123 

ments  on  the  appearance  of  our  new  toy,  and  could 
not  see  how  an  affair  with  so  much  gold  paint  on  the 
wheels  and  so  much  nickel  on  the  boiler  was  going 
to  work  successfully.  But  we  did  not  say  much, 
since  we  were  well  occupied  in  trying  to  find  out  the 
proper  way  to  fill  the  boiler.  Someone  suggested 
pouring  the  water  down  the  whistle,  and  so,  mounted 
on  a  step-ladder,  one  to  us  began  the  interesting  ex- 
periment. The  water  seemed  to  run  in  all  right,  as 
it  gurgled  down  through  the  pipes,  and  did  not  leak 
out  of  the  bottom.  As  there  did  not  seem  to  be  any 
other  loophole  to  the  boiler,  we  concluded  this  must 
be  the  right  method,  and  took  turns  for  an  hour  in 
emptying  the  contents  of  an  old  kerosene  tin  into  the 
whistle-valve. 

Next,  with  great  trepidation,  we  started  a  fire  in 
the  grate,  and  were  rejoiced  to  see  that  the  new  en- 
gine was  soon  fuming  away  like  an  old  veteran.  It 
quite  spruced  us  up  to  hear  the  fire  crackle  under  the 
boiler ;  but  our  heads  became  even  more  swelled  when 
steam  enough  was  generated  to  tickle  the  feed-pump 
into  taking  care  of  all  the  vacant  lots  in  the  boiler- 
tubes. 

When  our  friend  Don  Capitan  found  that  the  en- 
gine was  going  to  work  and  knew  its  business,  he 
said  we  must  have  a  big  trial  and  let  all  Manila 
see  the  show.  To  this  end  he  sent  around  printed 


124          YESTEBDAYS  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

programmes  of  what  was  going  to  take  place,  to 
all  the  prominent  people  in  the  city — for  he  was  an 
Alderman,  by  the  way  —  inviting  them  to  inspect 
the  working  of  the  engine  and  partake  of  a  collation 
afterward  in  the  spacious  buildings  of  the  hemp- 
press. 

Wednesday,  the  fatal  day,  arrived,  and  the  great 
American  fire-engine  stood  out  on  the  quay  glisten- 
ing in  the  sun,  the  centre  of  an  admiring  crowd  of 
open-mouthed  natives.  The  Englishmen  in  the  back- 
ground rather  put  their  heads  together  and  shook 
them  the  wrong  way,  as  they  often  do  at  anything 
American,  but  the  natives  allowed  their  lower  lips  to 
drop  from  overwhelming  admiration.  Everybody 
was  curious,  and  all  were  expectant,  from  the  small 
kids  dressed  in  nothing  but  the  regulation  Philippine 
undershirt,  who  played  shinney  with  the  coal  for  the 
boiler  and  looked  down  the  hose-nozzle,  to  Don  Cap- 
itan  himself,  who  went  around  shaking  by  the  hands 
all  the  high  and  mighty  officials  who  had  come  to 
see  his  latest  freak.  My  associate  and  I  felt  fairly 
important  as  we  gruffly  ordered  the  police  to  clear 
the  ground  for  action  and  blew  the  whistle  to  scare 
the  audience.  The  huge  suction-hose  was  run  into 
the  river,  and  our  host  made  his  pet  servant  jump 
in  after  it  to  hold  the  strainer  out  of  the  mud.  Ten 
natives  were  stationed  at  the  nozzle  of  the  four-inch 


YESTERDAYS  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES          125 

hose,  which  was  pointed  up  the  small  plaza  running 
back  from  the  quay,  and  while  I  poked  up  the  fire 
to  give  us  a  little  impressive  smoke,  Band  rang  the 
bell  and  turned  on  steam. 

The  affair  worked  admirably,  and  the  big  stream 
of  yellow  water  went  so  far  as  to  gently  soak  down  a 
lot  of  baled  tobacco  that  was  lying  on  a  street-corner 
at  the  next  block,  supposedly  beyond  reach.  The 
owner  of  the  tobacco,  thinking  that  a  thunder-storm 
had  struck  the  town,  came  to  the  door  of  his  office, 
just  behind,  to  see  what  was  up,  and,  as  the  engine 
suddenly  began  to  work  a  little  better,  the  stream  of 
water  somehow  knocked  him  over  and  played  around 
the  entrance  to  his  storehouse.  At  the  rate  things 
were  going  it  looked  as  if  the  exhibition  would  prove 
expensive  and,  to  avoid  diplomatic  complications,  we 
shut  off  steam  long  enough  to  shift  the  hose  over  for 
a  more  unobstructed  spurt  along  the  river. 

In  a  few  moments  after  the  change  had  been  made 
an  open  throttle  made  a  truly  huge  torrent  belch 
from  the  long  nozzle  with  such  force  as  to  make  the 
ten  hose-men  feel  decidedly  nervous,  but  it  did  not 
stop  them  from  turning  the  stream  toward  a  lighter 
which  was  being  polled  down  the  Pasig  by  two 
Malays.  The  foremost  was  washed  backward  into 
the  lighter,  and  the  hindmost  swept  off  into  the  river 
as  if  he  had  been  a  cockroach.  A  Chinaman  who  was 


126  YESTEEDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

paddling  a  load  of  vegetables  to  the  Esmeralda  in  a 
hollow  tree-trunk  suffered  the  same  fate.  He  and  his 
greens  were  swished  out  of  the  banco,  in  an  instant, 
and  he  found  himself  sitting  on  his  inverted  craft 
floating  helplessly  down-stream. 

Then  suddenly,  as  we  opened  the  throttle  to  the 
last  notch,  the  hose-men,  in  their  excitement  to  wet 
some  coolies  loading  hemp,  far  up  the  quay,  tried  to 
turn  the  torrent  back  onto  the  pavement,  but,  with 
its  force  of  fifteen  hundred  gallons  to  the  minute, 
it  was  too  quick  for  them,  and  with  one  mighty 
"  kerchug "  broke  away  to  send  the  nozzle  flying 
around  like  a  mill-wheel.  Before  they  knew  what 
struck  them  the  ten  men  holding  the  nozzle  were 
knocked  prostrate,  and  two  small  boys  in  under- 
shirts, who  were  playing  around  in  the  mud-puddles 
near  by,  were  whisked  off  into  the  river  like  so 
much  dust.  A  dozen  lightning  wriggles  of  the 
hose,  and  the  frenzied  cataract  shot  a  third  boy 
through  the  wire  door  into  the  office  of  our  friend, 
Don  Capitan.  Inside  the  door,  on  a  wooden  settee, 
were  sitting  some  of  the  family  servants  holding  their 
infants,  and  the  same  stream  on  which  the  boy 
travelled  through  the  door  washed  the  whole  party, 
settee  and  all,  across  the  hallway  into  a  heap  at  the 
foot  of  the  stairs. 

Outside,  the  audience  stampeded,  and  the  man  in 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  127 

the  river,  holding  on  to  the  suction  hose,  had  hard 
work  to  prevent  being  drawn  up  through  the  strainer 
and  pumped  out  the  other  end  in  fragments.  All 
this  took  place  in  a  quarter  of  the  time  it  takes  to  tell 
of  it,  and  events  followed  each  other  in  such  quick 
succession  that  the  hose  had  started  to  turn  over 
on  its  back  and  charge  on  the  engine  before  one 
of  us  rushed  in  to  shut  off  steam.  The  two  boys 
washed  into  the  river  were  fished  out  more  dead 
than  alive,  but  more  frightened  than  hurt,  and  the 
native  Philippine  policeman  on  duty  at  the  front 
arrested  them  promptly  for  daring  to  be  drowned. 
The  boy  blown  through  the  screen-door  had  his  ear 
badly  torn,  and  was  likewise  arrested  for  not  entering 
the  house  in  a  more  civilized  manner.  The  natives 
nursed  their  bare  feet  stepped  on  in  the  rush ;  the 
Englishmen,  who  had  been  sarcastic  several  days 
before,  said  nothing  ;  but  the  Spaniards  asked  where 
the  collation  was,  and,  waterlogged  though  they  were, 
began  to  eat  like  good  ones.  The  policeman  marched 
the  three  boys  in  undershirts  to  the  station-house,  and 
next  morning  the  daily  newspapers  devoted  more  space 
than  was  usual  in  describing  the  wonderful  machinery 
that  came  from  America,  for  the  benefit  of  their  read- 
ers, who,  like  that  English  dude  of  old,  "  didn't  weahl- 
ly  dweam  that  so  much  wattah  could  come  out  of 
such  a  wehwey  diminootive-looking  affaiah." 


128  YESTERDAYS  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

Otherwise,  in  Manila  we  are  now  enjoying  the  so- 
called  veranillo,  or  little  summer,  which  every  year 
comes  along  about  the  middle  of  August,  and  which 
consists  of  two  or  three  weeks  of  cool,  pleasant 
weather,  that  comes  between  the  rains  of  July  and 
the  typhoon  season  of  September.  And  fine  weather 
it  is,  with  a  jolly  breeze  blowing  in  from  the  China 
Sea  all  day,  with  delightful  afternoons,  moonlight 
nights,  and  fresh  mornings. 

September  20th. 

There  has  been  no  opportunity  to  start  letters  off 
for  the  other  side  of  the  globe  since  the  early  days  of 
the  present  month,  on  account  of  a  typhoon  which 
has  visited  our  fair  capital,  and  which  has  so  de- 
layed steamers  that  all  connections  seem  to  have 
been  scattered  to  the  four  winds.  I  have  long  been 
waiting  to  become  acquainted  with  one  of  these 
aerial  disturbances,  and  at  last  the  meteorological 
monotony  has  been  broken. 

Early  in  this  eventful  week,  warnings  came  from 
our  most  excellent  observatory,  run  by  the  Jesuit 
priests,  that  trouble  was  brewing  down  in  the  Pacific 
to  the  south  and  east,  and  by  Friday  signal  No.  1  of 
the  danger  system  was  displayed  on  the  flagstaff  of 
the  look-out  tower.  The  news  about  the  storm  was 
indefinite,  but  the  villain  was  supposed  to  be  slowly 
moving  northwest,  headed  directly  for  Manila.  Sat- 


YESTEEDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  129 

urday  up  went  signal  No.  2,  and  in  the  afternoon  No. 
3,  and  by  evening  No.  4.  Still  everything  was  calm 
and  peaceful,  and  Sunday  morning  dawned  pleasant 
but  for  the  exception  of  a  dull  haze.  Early  in  the 
afternoon  up  went  signal  No.  5,  which  means  that 
things  are  getting  pretty  bad,  and  which  is  not  far 
from  No.  8,  the  worst  that  can  be  hoisted. 

Everybody  now  began  to  get  ready  for  the  invis- 
ible monster.  All  the  steamers  and  ships  in  the  river 
put  out  extra  cables,  and  the  vessels  in  the  Bay  ex- 
tra anchors.  No  small  craft  of  any  kind  were  per- 
mitted to  pass  out  by  the  breakwater,  and  later 
navigation  in  the  river  itself  was  prohibited.  Still 
everything  was  calm  and  quiet,  tmt  the  haze  thick- 
ened and  low  scud-clouds  began  to  sail  in  from  the 
China  Sea.  Shortly  after  tiffin  at  our  residence  by 
the  seaside,  our  gaze  was  attracted  by  a  native  com- 
ing down  the  street,  dressed  in  a  black  coat  with 
shirt-tails  hanging  out  beneath,  and  wearing  white 
trousers  and  a  tall  hat.  He  carried  a  decorated  cane, 
wore  no  shoes,  and  marched  down  the  centre  of  the 
street,  giving  utterance  to  solemn  sentences  in  a 
deep  musical  voice.  In  short,  he  was  the  official 
crier  to  herald  the  coming  of  the  typhoon,  and  as  he 
marched  along  the  bells  up  in  the  old  church  beyond 
our  house  rang  out  what  poets  would  call  "  a  wild, 
warning  plea." 


130  YESTEEDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

The  natives  opposite  began  hastily  to  sling  ropes 
over  the  thatch  of  their  light  shanties,  and  one  of  the 
Englishmen  who  lived  not  far  back  of  us  had  already 
stretched  good  solid  cables  over  the  steep-sloping 
roof  of  his  domicile.  A  sort  of  hush  prevailed,  and 
then  sudden  gusts  began  to  blow  in  off  the  bay. 
The  scud-clouds  increased  and  appeared  to  be  in  a 
fearful  hurry.  The  roar  of  the  surf  loudened,  and 
one  after  the  other  of  our  sliding  sea-shell  windows 
had  to  be  shut  and  bolstered  up  for  precaution. 
The  typhoon  seemed  to  be  advancing  slowly,  as  they 
often  do,  but  its  course  was  sure.  Our  eight  o'clock 
dinner-hour  passed  and  the  wind  began  to  howl. 
Before  turning  in  for  the  night,  we  moved  out  of  our 
little  parlor  such  valuable  articles  as  might  be  most 
missed  if  they  decided  to  journey  off  through  the  air 
in  company  with  the  roof,  and  later  tried  to  sleep 
amidst  a  terrific  din  of  rattlings.  But  slumber  was 
impossible.  Our  house  trembled  like  a  blushing 
bride  before  the  altar,  and  for  the  triumphal  music  of 
the  "  Wedding  March ''  the  tin  was  suddenly  stripped 
off  our  rain-shed  roof  like  so  much  paper.  And  then 
the  racket !  Great  pieces  of  tin  were  slapping  around 
against  the  house  like  all  possessed ;  the  trees  in  the 
front  garden  were  sawing  against  the  cornices,  as  if 
they  wanted  to  get  in,  and  the  rush  of  air  outside 
seemed  to  generate  a  vacuum  within. 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  131 

At  3  A.M.  things  got  so  bad  that  it  seemed  as  if 
something  were  going  to  burst,  and  my  chum  and  I 
decided  to  take  a  last  look  into  the  parlor  before  seek- 
ing the  safety  of  the  cellar.  No  glass  would  have  with- 
stood the  gusts  that  came  pouncing  in  from  the  Bay, 
but  our  sea- shell  windows  did  not  seem  to  yield.  The 
rain  was  sizzling  in  through  the  cracks  like  hot  grease 
when  a  fresh  doughnut  is  dropped  into  the  spider, 
and  the  noise  outside  was  deafening.  As  our  house 
seemed  to  be  holding  together,  however,  we  gave  up 
going  to  the  regions  below,  and  turned  in  again, 
thankful  that  we  were  not  off  on  the  ships  in  the  Bay. 
Now  and  then  the  wind  lulled  somewhat,  and  blew 
from  another  quarter,  but  by  early  morning  came 
some  of  the  most  terrific  blowings  I  have  ever  felt, 
resulting  from  the  change  of  direction.  Down  came 
all  the  wires  in  the  main  street;  over  went  half  a 
dozen  nipa  houses  to  one  side  of  us,  and  "  kerplunk  " 
broke  off  some  venerable  trees  that  for  many  years 
had  withstood  the  blast.  The  street  was  a  mass  of 
wreckage,  as  far  down  as  the  eye  could  see,  and  few 
signs  of  life  were  visible.  During  the  rest  of  the  day 
the  wind  blew  most  fiercely,  but  from  the  change  of 
direction  it  was  easy  to  see  that  the  centre  of  the 
typhoon  was  passing  off  to  the  northwest. 

I  sallied  out  later  in  the  afternoon,  dressed  in  not 
much  more  than  a  squash-hat,  a  rubber  coat,  and  a  pair 


132  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE   PHILIPPINES 

of  boots,  whose  soles  were  holy  enough  to  let  the  water 
out  as  fast  as  it  came  in.  It  was  as  much  as  one 
could  do  to  stand  against  the  blast,  but  I  managed 
to  keep  along  behind  the  houses,  cross  the  streets, 
and  reach  the  Luneta,  where  all  the  lamps  bent  their 
heads  with  broken  glass,  and  where  the  huge  waves 
were  flying  far  up  into  the  air  in  their  efforts  to  dis- 
pose of  the  stone  sea-wall.  The  clumps  of  fishing 
and  bath  houses  which  stood  perched  on  posts 
out  in  the  surf  were  being  fast  battered  to  pieces, 
and  those  which  were  not  minus  roof  and  sides  were 
washed  up  into  the  road  as  driftwood.  The  natives 
were  rushing  gingerly  hither  and  thither,  grabbing 
such  logs  as  they  could  find,  while  some  of  the  fisher- 
men's families  were  crouching  behind  a  stone  wall 
watching  their  wrecked  barns,  and  sitting  on  their 
saucepans,  furniture,  and  babies,  to  keep  them  from 
sailing  skyward.  The  surf  was  tremendous,  the 
vessels  in  the  bay  were  shrouded  in  spray,  and  several 
of  them  seemed  almost  to  be  ashore  in  the  breakers, 
A  steamer  appeared  to  have  broken  adrift  and  was 
locked  in  the  embrace  of  a  Nova  Scotia  bark.  But 
everything  comes  to  an  end  and  as  night  drew  on 
the  winds  and  rain  subsided  and  comparative  quiet 
succeeded  a  season  of  exaggerated  movement  and 
din. 
The  typhoon  was  wide  in  diameter,  perhaps  two 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  133 

hundred  miles,  and  so  was  not  destructive,  like  the 
one  that  laid  Manila  low  way  back  in  the  '80's.  It 
seems  that  the  larger  the  diameter  of  one  of  these 
circular  storms,  the  less  its  intensity,  and  although 
the  wind  at  any  given  time  is  moving  with  tremen- 
dous velocity  within  the  circle,  the  whole  disturbance 
is  not  advancing  at  a  pace  much  over  a  dozen  miles 
an  hour. 

After  the  typhoon  came  the  floods,  and  the  old 
Pasig  covered  the  adjacent  country.  The  water  con- 
cealed the  road  to  the  up-town  club  at  Nagtajan 
under  a  depth  of  several  feet,  and  one  could  without 
difficulty  row  into  the  billiard-room  or  play  water- 
polo  in  the  bowling-alley.  Two  of  my  friends  were 
nearly  drowned  by  trying  to  drive  when  they  should 
have  swum  or  gone  by  boat.  The  pony  walked  off 
with  their  carriage  into  a  rice-field,  in  the  darkness, 
and  was  drowned  in  more  than  eight  feet  of  water. 
The  boys  only  crawled  out  with  difficulty,  and  just 
managed  to  reach  "  dry  land  "  (that  with  three  feet  of 
water  over  it)  in  the  nick  of  time.  As  it  was,  one  of 
them  practically  saved  the  other's  life,  and  has  since 
been  presented  with  a  gold  watch,  which  does  not  run. 

One  of  the  bank-managers  was  to  give  a  dinner- 
dance  at  his  house  next  evening,  to  which  everyone 
was  invited,  when  word  came  that  his  bungalow  could 
only  be  reached  by  boats,  and  that  the  festivities 


134  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

would  have  to  be  put  off  until  the  parlor  floor  ap- 
peared. To  the  north,  where  the  actual  centre  of  the 
typhoon  passed,  the  railway  was  swept  away,  the 
telegraph  line  that  connects  with  the  cable  to  Hong 
Kong  torn  down,  and  the  country  in  general  laid 
under  water.  But  the  show  is  now  concluded,  and 
business,  which  had  been  paralyzed  for  a  week,  once 
more  starts  up  with  the  coming  of  the  cablegrams. 

Manila  life  goes  on  as  ever,  and  it  is  curious  to 
note  how  fast  the  days  and  weeks  slip  backward. 
Everyone  agrees  that  the  most  rapid  thing  in  town, 
except  the  winds  of  the  typhoons,  is  the  speed  with 
which  the  Philippine  to-day  becomes  yesterday.  The 
secret  seems  to  lie  in  the  fact  that  there  are  no  land- 
marks by  which  to  remember  the  weeks  that  are 
gone.  The  trees  are  green  all  the  year  round,  and 
there  are  no  snow-storms  to  mark  the  contrast  be- 
tween winter  and  summer.  There  are  no  class-days, 
no  ball-games,  and  no  coming  out  in  spring  fashions 
to  break  the  orderly  procession  of  the  sun,  moon,  and 
stars.  We  wear  our  white  starched  suits  every  day 
in  the  year,  and  one's  wardrobe  is  not  replete  with 
various  checks,  plaids,  and  stripes  that  mark  an  epoch 
in  one's  appearance.  We  cannot,  like  Teufelsdroch, 
in  "  Sartor  Besartus,"  speculate  much  on  the  "clothes 
philosophy,"  though  we  may  do  so  on  the  centres  of 
indifference;  for  our  garments  are  not  complex 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  135 

enough  to  invite  transcendental  theorizing.  Manila 
food  is  alike  from  Christmas  morn  to  the  following 
Christmas  eve,  and  so,  take  it  all  in  all,  the  past  is 
practically  without  milestones,  and  seems  far  shorter 
than  one  in  which  many  events  make  the  measured 
steps  more  clearly  differentiated. 

At  present  everybody  dates  his  ideas  from  the 
typhoon,  and  that  will  remain  a  landmark  for  some 
time,  if  the  fire  which  took  place  the  other  evening 
on  the  banks  of  the  river  does  not  usurp  its  po- 
sition. Ten  thousand  bales  of  hemp,  and  a  lot  of 
copra,  sugar,  and  cocoanut-oil  were  sent  aloft  in  less 
earthly  form.  JEsthetically  the  sight  was  beautiful, 
and  the  eye  was  charmed  by  the  mingling  of  vast 
tongues  of  blue,  green,  red,  and  yellow  flames,  some 
of  which  burst  forth  from  the  very  waters  of  the  river 
itself  on  which  the  inflammable  materials  had  excur- 
sioned.  Our  new  fire-engine  was  on  hand  for  the 
first  time,  in  actual  service,  and,  together  with  the 
small  English  engine  brought  out  from  London,  did 
its  duty.  America,  as  usual,  was  in  the  lead,  and 
everybody  stood  aghast  to  see  the  big  five -inch  stream 
mow  down  the  brick  walls  of  the  burning  houses  like 
grain  before  the  reaper.  One  native  in  particular, 
whose  frail  hut  was  washed  to  splinters  by  that  big 
cataract  played  upon  it  to  save  it  from  the  flames,  said 
he'd  rather  lose  his  property  by  fire  than  to  stand  by 


136  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

and  see  the  blooming  bomba  (fire-engine)  blow  it 
all  to  bits.  The  local  department,  as  usual,  lost  their 
heads,  and  while  some  began  to  chop  the  tiles  off 
the  roofs  of  neighboring  houses,  others  directed  the 
streams  from  the  hand-pumps  onto  the  choppers. 
Even  our  gallant  friend  the  American  broker,  who 
helps  swell  the  number  of  Yankee  business  men  in 
Manila  to  four,  almost  got  roasted  alive  by  being  shut 
into  an  iron  vault  as  he  tried  to  rescue  some  valuable 
papers  belonging  to  a  customer  and  had  to  be  soused 
with  water,  after  his  miraculous  escape,  to  lower  his 
temperature.  But  at  length  Providence  and  water 
prevailed,  and  the  damage  did  not  come  to  more 
than  half  a  million  dollars. 


VII 

A  Series  of  Typhoons— A  Chinese  Feast-day— A  Bank-holiday  Excur- 
sion— Lost  in  the  Mist — Los  Banos — The  "  Enchanted  Lake  " — 
Six  Dollars  for  a  Human  Life — A  Religious  Procession— Celebra- 
tion of  the  Expulsion  of  the  Chinese — Bicycle  Races  and  Fire- 
works. 

October  5th. 

PHEW  !  We  have  hardly  had  time  to  breathe  since 
the  last  mail,  for  we  have  been  in  the  midst  of  ty- 
phoon after  typhoon,  shipwrecks,  house-wrecks,  and 
telegraph-wrecks,  both  simplex  and  duplex.  Manila 
had  scarcely  gotten  over  talking  of  the  war  of  the 
elements,  above  spoken  of,  before  another  cyclone 
was  announced  to  the  south,  and  soon  we  were 
going  through  an  experience  similar  to  that  re- 
lated the  other  day.  When  that  was  over,  every- 
body began  to  draw  breath  again,  but  before  the 
lungs  of  the  populace  were  fully  expanded,  the  wind 
suddenly  went  into  that  dangerous  quarter,  the  north- 
west, and  up  went  signal  No.  5  again.  The  blow  came 
on  more  suddenly  than  the  former  one,  and  all  hands 
left  the  business  offices  to  go  home  and  sit  on  their 
roofs.  The  tin  was  again  stripped  like  paper  from 

our  portico,   and    great    masses    of   metal    banged 

137 


138  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE   PHILIPPINES 

around  outside  with  the  clash  of  cymbals.  It  was  a 
terrific  night.  The  ships  in  the  Bay  dragged  their 
anchors  nearly  to  the  breakwater,  and  in  the  morning 
four  Spanish  brigs  were  a  total  wreck.  One  in  partic- 
ular went  ashore  on  the  bar  at  the  river's  mouth,  and 
at  daylight  was  being  swept  fore  and  aft  by  the  great 
seas.  Eight  men  were  hanging  on  for  dear  life,  and 
it  looked  as  if  they  would  be  swallowed  up  in  the 
great  drink ;  but  two  big  lifeboats  were  got  out,  and 
as  the  sea  moderated  somewhat,  the  sailors  were  at 
length  rescued,  just  as  their  ship  went  all  to  smash. 
A  thousand  houses  were  blown  down,  many  of  the 
streets  in  Manila  were  flooded,  telegraph  lines  pros- 
trated, and  tram-car  service  interrupted. 

But  things  have  now  quieted  down,  and  Sunday 
was  a  big  feast-day  in  the  Chinese  quarter.  All  the 
wealthy  Chinamen  were  celebrating  something  or 
other,  and  they  invited  all  the  foreign  merchants, 
as  well  as  their  local  friends,  to  the  celebration. 
They  served  tea  and  refreshments  in  their  various 
little  junk  shops,  and  some  of  the  more  influen- 
tial members  of  the  colony  of  fifty  thousand  gave 
elaborate  spreads,  followed  by  dances  and  concerts. 
The  streets  were  filled  with  peculiar  processions  of 
men  carrying  banners  and  graven  images,  and  the 
sidewalks  were  lined  with  spectators. 

I  went  to  one  of  the  most  pretentious  of  the  indoor 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  139 

functions,  found  myself  in  a  gorgeously  furnished 
suite  of  apartments,  decorated  in  true  Chinese  fashion, 
and  was  royally  entertained  by  a  shrewd  Celestial 
who  was  supposed  to  be  worth  several  million  dollars. 
He  began  conversation  with  me  by  saying  that,  in  his 
belief,  bathing  was  injurious,  and  that  he  had  not 
taken  a  bath  in  thirty  years.  From  all  I  could  judge, 
others  of  his  brethren  seemed  to  hold  the  same  views 
as  he,  and  the  long  rooms,  halls,  and  corridors  in  due 
season  got  to  be  so  warm  and  fragrant  that  it  was  a 
relief  to  escape. 

Now  and  then  the  bells  in  the  big  church  rang 
lustily,  and  many  lanterns  lighted  it  up  from  cornice 
to  keystone.  Hundreds  of  carriages  drove  through 
the  streets,  apparently  bound  nowhere  in  particular, 
and  the  bands  played  in  all  quarters. 

It  almost  seems  as  if  each  week  in  the  calendar 
brought  in  a  religious  display  of  some  sort  in  some 
one  part  of  the  town,  and  every  Sunday  evening  finds 
a  big  church  somewhere  blazing  with  light  or  a  street 
blinking  with  candles. 

November  13th. 

The  Monday  after  the  departure  of  the  monthly 
direct  mail  from  Manila  to  the  Peninsula  is  always 
devoted  to  our  old  friend  "  bank-holiday,"  and  all  the 
foreign  merchants  close  their  doors.  This  event 
occurred  the  first  of  this  week,  and  on  Saturday  after- 


140          YESTEEDAYS  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

noon  last  some  of  the  more  energetic  of  us,  deciding 
to  take  another  little  outing  into  the  hills,  started  up 
the  river  on  a  small  launch,  bound  for  the  big  lake  at 
the  foot  of  the  mountains.  A  drizzling  rain  was  fall- 
ing and  the  weather  did  not  look  propitious,  but  we 
pushed  on,  left  the  mouth  of  the  river  where  the  lake 
empties  into  it,  and  sallied  out  on  the  broad  waters 
of  the  Laguna  de  Bay.  Numerous  serving-boys, 
boxes  of  china,  food,  ice,  and  bedding  ballasted  the 
stern  of  our  little  steamer,  and  as  it  grew  dark  a  feast 
was  prepared  for  us  on  deck.  In  going  up  the  lake, 
the  pilot,  who  was  accustomed  only  to  navigating  the 
launch  along  the  quays  of  Manila  itself,  got  quite  at 
sea  and  lost  his  way  in  the  evening  mist.  Some  of 
us,  however,  more  nautical  than  the  rest,  procured  a 
chart,  consulted  a  compass  which  the  native  mariner 
in  his  stupidity  chose  utterly  to  disregard,  and  by 
dint  of  perseverance  brought  the  frail  bark  back  into 
her  proper  course,  without  further  mishap  than  run- 
ning through  a  series  of  fish-weirs. 

We  anchored  near  a  little  settlement,  Los  Bafios, 
shortly  before  midnight.  The  deck  planking  did  not 
make  a  soft  bed,  but  nevertheless  the  snoring  soon 
became  hard  likewise,  and  Sunday  morning  found  us 
refreshed  by  the  bracing  air  of  the  provinces.  The 
rain  had  cleared  away,  and  after  an  early  breakfast 
the  pilot  ran  the  launch  slowly  ashore  on  a  smooth 


YESTERDAYS  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES           141 

beach,  beneath  a  high  bank  fringed  with  bamboo. 
The  gang-plank  was  run  out,  and  several  of  our  little 
party  started  off  with  guns  to  get  some  duck,  snipe, 
and  pigeons,  which  were  plentiful  in  the  jungle  be- 
yond. 

Those  of  us  who  were  left,  with  a  couple  of  native 
guides,  climbed  up  the  steep  slopes  of  an  extinct  vol- 
cano to  explore  a  so-called  "  Enchanted  Lake "  that 
occupied  the  low  crater.  The  way  led  past  several 
ponds  filled  to  overflowing  with  pink  pond-lilies, 
and,  as  we  wound  up  along  the  rising  knolls,  the  air 
was  as  fragrant  as  that  of  a  greenhouse.  Then  came 
a  short  climb  which  brought  us  to  the  crater's  edge. 
The  Enchanted  Lake  lay  like  a  mirror  below,  and 
the  rich  foliage  all  about  was  almost  perfectly  re- 
flected in  the  still,  green  water. 

The  locality  being  romantic,  it  is  quite  regular  that 
there  should  be  connected  with  it  an  interesting  story 
which  seems  to  bear  on  its  face  the  evidences  of  truth. 
It  seems  there  used  to  live  a  fisherman  and  his  wife 
hard  by  the  sloping  banks  that  surround  the  En- 
chanted Lake.  One  day,  so  the  story  goes,  the 
fisherman's  spouse  had  reason  to  suspect  the  fidelity 
of  her  husband,  and  aflame  with  pious  rage,  she  con- 
cocted a  scheme  to  rid  herself  of  her  worser  half. 
Calling  upon  two  rival  fishermen  whose  hut  was  not 
far  distant,  she  promised  them  the  large  amount  of 


142  YESTERDAYS  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

twelve  dollars  if  they  would  put  her  husband  out  of 
the  way.  This  being  a  pot  of  money  to  them,  they 
agreed  to  her  proposition,  and  during  one  of  the 
next  excursions  out  to  the  distant  fish-weirs  in  the 
parent  lake  below,  contrived  to  tip  him  overboard 
and  hold  him  under.  Coming  back  in  the  afternoon, 
they  went  to  the  hut  of  the  freshly  made  widow  and 
demanded  the  twelve  dollars. 

"  I  can  give  you  but  six,"  said  she,  "  for  I'm  hard 
up." 

"But  you  promised  us  twelve  if  we  would  do  the 
business,"  said  they. 

"  But  I  tell  you  I  can  give  you  but  six,"  responded 
the  widow.  "  Take  that  or  nothing." 

Angry  at  having  been  thus  deceived,  the  two  murder- 
ers excitedly  paddled  over  to  the  neighboring  village 
of  Los  Banos,  went  to  the  cuartel,  presided  over  by  a 
Spanish  official,  and  addressed  him  with  these  words : 

"A  lady  over  there  by  the  Enchanted  Lake  prom- 
ised us  twelve  dollars  if  we  would  kill  her  husband. 
We  have  done  the  job  and  asked  her  for  our  money, 
but  she  will  only  give  us  six.  We  want  you  to  arrest 
her." 

The  official,  thinking  the  whole  thing  a  joke,  laugh- 
ingly said  he  would  attend  to  the  matter.  The  two 
simple-minded  criminals  went  off,  apparently  satis- 
fied, and  disappeared. 


YESTERDAYS  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES          143 

Later,  our  friend  the  official  thought  there  might 
be  some  truth  behind  the  apparent  absurdity  of  the 
yarn,  and  on  investigation  found  that  a  murder  had 
actually  been  committed.  But  someone  more  cred- 
ulous than  the  Spaniard  gave  a  friendly  warning  to 
the  committers  of  the  deed,  and  they  were  not  brought 
to  justice  until  some  months  afterward.  Such  is  the 
comparative  esteem  in  which  the  native  holds  human 
life  and  Mexican  dollars. 

Later  we  descended  again  to  the  bold  coast-line  of 
the  Laguna  de  Bay  and,  to  the  accompaniment  of 
banging  guns,  which  showed  that  some  of  the  rest  of 
our  party  were  really  on  the  war-path,  returned  launch- 
ward.  The  hunting-expedition  came  in  soon  after 
with  large  bags  of  snipe  and  pigeon,  and  all  hands 
then  joined  in  a  series  of  dives  off  the  stern  of  our 
boat,  or  soused  around  in  the  tepid  water.  The  group 
of  savages  living  in  the  huts  near  by  were  much 
startled  at  our  taking  plunges  headlong.  They  them- 
selves never  dive  otherwise  than  feet  first,  for  it 
is  a  common  superstition  among  the  Filipinos  that 
the  evil  water-spirits  would  catch  them  by  the  head 
and  hold  them  under  if  this  article  came  along  before 
the  feet  put  in  an  appearance. 

At  noontime  our  native  cooks  did  themselves  proud 
in  getting  up  a  game  breakfast,  and  in  the  afternoon 
the  launch  backed  off  and  steamed  across  the  narrow 


144  YESTERDAYS   IN   THE  PHILIPPINES 

bay  to  Los  Banos  itself,  a  little  town  clustering 
around  some  boiling  springs  whose  vapor  floats  over 
a  good  hotel  and  some  elaborate  bathing-establish- 
ments. This  seems  to  be  a  rather  favorite  resort  for 
the  Spanish  population  of  Manila  at  certain  times  of 
the  year,  and  once  or  twice  a  week  the  old  side- 
wheeler  Laguna  de  Bay  stops  here  on  her  way  up 
from  the  capital  to  Santa  Cruz. 

Behind  the  town  the  land  slopes  steeply  up  to  the 
mountain  heights  of  still  another  extinct  volcano, 
whose  ghost  exists  merely  to  give  life  to  the  hot  waters 
of  the  springs  below.  In  front  it  runs  off  to  the  lake 
shore,  and,  all  in  all,  the  scenery  is  as  picturesque  as 
the  air  is  healthy.  From  Los  Banos  we  crossed  the 
lake,  cruised  down  along  the  abrupt  mountainous 
shores  between  the  two  fine  old  promontories  of 
Halla  Halla,  that  jut  out  like  the  prongs  to  a  W, 
and  stopped  every  now  and  then  at  some  particu- 
larly attractive  little  native  village  coming  down  to 
the  water's  edge.  At  about  sundown  on  Monday 
afternoon,  the  prow  was  turned  Manilaward,  and 
after  a  cool  sunset  sail  of  twenty  miles  we  drew  in 
at  the  portico  of  the  uptown  club,  all  the  better  for 
our  two  day's  trip,  which  cost  us  each  but  a  little 
over  five  gold  dollars. 

Last  night  there  occurred  another  one  of  those  re- 
ligious torchlight  processions  which  are  so  common 


YESTERDAYS  IN  THE   PHILIPPINES  145 

in  the  streets  of  Old  Manila.  It  started  after  sunset, 
inside  the  city  walls,  from  a  big  church  brightly  illu- 
minated from  top  to  bottom  with  small  candle-cups 
that  gave  it  the  appearance  of  a  great  sugar  pal- 
ace. The  procession  consisted  of  many  richly  deco- 
rated floats,  containing  life-size  figures  of  saints  and 
apostles  dressed  in  garments  of  gold  and  purple 
and  borne  along  by  sweating  coolies,  who  staggered 
underneath  a  draping  that  shielded  from  view  all  save 
their  lower  limbs  and  naked  feet.  The  larger  floats 
were  covered  with  dozens  of  candelabra  and  guarded 
by  soldiers  with  fixed  bayonets.  Other  rolling  floats 
of  smaller  magnitude  were  pulled  along  by  little 
children  in  white  gowns,  while  troops  of  old  maids, 
young  maids,  and  Spanish  women  marched  be- 
fore and  behind,  dressed  in  black  and  carrying 
candles.  The  black  mantillas  which  fell  gracefully 
from  the  heads  of  many  of  the  torch-bearers  gave 
their  faces  a  look  of  saint-like  grace,  except  at  such 
times  as  the  evening  breeze  made  the  candle-grease 
refractory,  and  one  might  easily  have  imagined  him- 
self a  spectator  at  a  celebration  in  Seville. 

Many  bands  all  playing  different  tunes  in  differ- 
ent times  and  keys,  rows  of  hard-faced,  fat-stom- 
ached priests  trying  to  look  religious  but  failing 
completely  to  do  so,  and  five  hundred  small  boys, 
who,  like  ours  at  home,  formed  a  sort  of  rear  guard 


146  YESTERDAYS  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

to  the  solemnities,  all  went  to  make  up  the  peculiar 
performance.  The  whole  long  affair  started  from  the 
church,  wound  through  the  narrow  streets,  and  finally 
brought  up  at  the  church  again,  where  it  was  saluted 
by  fireworks  and  ringing  of  bells. 

In  the  balconies  of  the  houses  that  almost  overhung 
the  route  were  smiling  crowds  of  lookers-on,  and  Ko- 
man  candles  and  Bengola  lights  added  impressiveness 
to  the  scene,  or  dropped  their  sparks  on  the  garments 
of  those  promenading  below.  As  the  various  images 
of  the  Virgin  Mary  and  the  Descent  from  the  Cross 
passed  by,  everyone  took  off  his  hat  and  appeared 
deeply  impressed  with  religious  feeling.  After  the 
carriers  of  the  floats  had  put  down  for  good  their 
expensive  burdens  in  the  vestry  of  the  church,  a  few 
liquid  refreshments  easily  started  them  quarrelling  as 
to  the  merits  of  their  respective  displays.  One  set 
claimed  that  their  Descent  from  the  Cross  was  more 
life-like  than  that  carried  by  their  rivals,  and  they 
almost  came  to  blows  over  which  of  the  Virgin  Marys 
wore  the  finest  clothes. 

Yesterday  was  the  celebration  of  the  expulsion  of 
the  Chinese  invaders  from  the  Philippines,  about  a 
hundred  years  ago,  and  the  whole  city  was  aglow 
with  flags  and  decorations.  In  the  afternoon  every- 
body went  to  the  Luneta  to  see  the  bicycle  races  and 
to  hear  the  music.  A  huge  crowd  surged  around  the 


YESTERDAYS  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  147 

central  plaza,  and  the  best  places  in  the  band-stand 
were  reserved  for  the  Spanish  ladies  and  Government 
dignitaries.  The  races  were  slow,  but  the  crowd 
cheered  and  seemed  perfectly  satisfied  as  one  after 
another  of  the  contestants  tipped  over  going  around 
the  sharp  corners.  After  the  races  a  beautiful  Span- 
ish maiden,  whose  eyes  were  so  crossed  that  she 
must  have  easily  mixed  up  the  winning  bicycle  with 
the  tail-ender,  distributed  the  prizes,  and  the  police 
had  hard  work  to  keep  the  crowd  from  overwhelming 
the  centre  of  attraction.  Then  everybody  listened  to 
the  music,  walked  or  drove  around  in  carriages,  and 
waited  for  the  fireworks,  which  were  set  off  not  long 
after  sunset.  The  costly  display  was  accompanied 
by  murmurings  of  "  Oh !  "  from  hundreds  of  throats. 
There  was  an  Eiffel  Tower  of  flame,  several  mixed- 
up  crosses  that  twisted  in  and  out  of  each  other,  nu- 
merous scroll-wheels,  fountains,  and  a  burst  of 
bombs  and  rockets.  Some  of  the  parachute  stars 
gracefully  floated  out  over  the  Bay  and  descended 
into  the  water,  causing  startled  exclamations  from 
the  natives,  who  are  not  accustomed  to  look  on  fire- 
works with  equanimity.  But  as  of  old,  everything 
finally  ended  in  smoke,  and  the  multitude  melted 
away,  thoroughly  satisfied  with  the  celebration  of  the 
anniversary  of  the  victory  over  the  Chinese. 

As  it  seems  about  time  to  take  a  longer  rest  than 


148  YESTERDAYS   IN   THE  PHILIPPINES 

usual  from  the  labor  attendant  on  waiting  for  a  boom 
in  the  hemp  market,  I  hope  next  week  to  start  off  on 
one  of  the  well-equipped  provincial  steamers,  that 
makes  a  run  of  two  thousand  miles  south,  among 
the  sugar-islands  and  the  hemp-ports,  and  in  the 
next  chapter  there  ought  to  be  a  rather  long  account 
of  what  is  said  to  be  a  very  interesting  voyage. 


VIII 

A  Trip  to  the  South — Contents  of  the  "  Puchero  "— Romblon— Cebu, 
the  Southern  Hemp-Centre—Places  Touched  At— A  Rich  Indian 
at  Camiguin— Tall  Trees — Primitive  Hemp-Cleaners — A  New 
Volcano  —  Mindanao  Island  —  Moro  Trophies — Iligan — Iloilo — 
Back  Again  at  Manila. 

December  23,  1894. 

I  HAVE  just  returned  from  the  south,  and  feel  able 
enough  to  begin  the  narrative.  On  Saturday,  De- 
cember 1,  thick  clouds  obscured  the  sky,  and  gusty 
showers  of  rain  continued  to  fall  until  evening, 
when  they  formed  themselves  into  a  respectable 
downpour.  It  was  objectionable  weather  for  the 
dry  season  just  commencing,  but  the  northwest 
monsoon  was  said  to  be  heavy  outside,  and  the  rain 
on  our  east  coast  evidently  slid  over  the  mountains 
back  of  Manila,  instead  of  staying  where  it  belonged. 
Such  was  the  day  of  starting,  while,  to  cap  the  climax, 
just  before  the  advertised  leaving-time  of  the  Uranus, 
word  came  from  the  Jesuit  observatory  that  a  typhoon 
was  apparently  getting  ready  to  sail  directly  across 
the  course  we  were  to  take,  and  up  went  signal 
No.  3  on  the  flag-staff  at  the  mouth  of  the  river. 

Philosophers,   however,   must   not  be  bothered   by 

149 


150  YESTEKDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

trifles,  and  although  my  friends  predicted  a  miserable 
voyage,  and  told  me  to  take  all  my  water-proofs 
and  sou'westers,  I  went  aboard  the  steamer  with  a 
smiling  countenance  only,  followed  by  three  "  boys  " 
who  deposited  my  traps  in  a  state-room  of  lean  pro- 
portions. 

At  half  after  seven  in  the  evening  the  whistle  blew, 
the  visitors  departed,  and  the  Uranus  slowly  began 
to  back  down  the  narrow  river  into  the  black  night. 
She  is  one  of  the  largest  and  newest  "province 
steamers"  in  the  Philippines,  and  it  took  a  great 
deal  of  manipulation  to  turn  her  around  and  get  her 
headed  toward  the  Bay.  As  large,  perhaps,  as  one  of 
our  coasting  boats  that  runs  to  the  West  Indies,  she 
has  a  flush  deck  from  stem  to  stern,  and  is  ruled  over 
by  a  very  jolly,  stubby,  little  Spanish  captain  who 
looks  eminently  well  fed  if  not  so  well  groomed. 

We  got  out  of  the  river  at  eight  o'clock,  saw  the 
three  warning,  red,  typhoon  lanterns  glaring  at  us,  and 
started  full  speed  ahead  for  Romblon,  our  first  calling- 
port,  eighteen  hours  away.  Dinner  was  served  on 
deck  from  a  large  table  formed  by  closing  down  the 
huge  skylights  to  the  regular  dining-saloon  below, 
and  the  eaters  took  far  more  enjoyment  in  their 
Spanish  bill  of  fare  under  the  awnings  than  they 
would  have  done  had  the  same  victuals  been  dished 
up  downstairs.  I  say  "  victuals,"  for  the  word  seems 


YESTERDAYS   IN   THE  PHILIPPINES  151 

to  be  the  only  invention  for  just  such  combinations 
as  were  set  before  us,  and  "  dished  up "  suggests 
the  scooped-out-of-a-kettle  process  far  better  than 
"  served."  Spanish  food  is  rather  too  mixy,  too  gar- 
licky, too  unfathomable  for  me,  but  as  one  can  get 
used  to  anything  I  accommodated  myself  to  the  pu- 
chero  (a  mixture  of  meat,  beans,  sausages,  cabbage, 
and  pork),  and  was  soon  eating  fish  as  a  fifth  course 
instead  of  a  second.  The  feast  began  with  soup 
and  sundries,  and  was  continued  by  the  puchero 
which  was  merely  an  introduction  to  the  fish  course, 
the  roast,  and  all  the  cheese  and  things  that  fol- 
lowed. Every  dinner  was  practically  the  same,  dif- 
fering slightly  in  details,  and  the  deck  each  time  played 
its  part  as  dining-room.  Early  breakfast  came  at  six, 
late  breakfast  came  at  ten,  and  dinner  poked  along  at 
five — a  combination  of  meal  hours  which  was  enough 
to  give  one  indigestion  before  touching  a  mouthful. 

During  the  night  we  all  waited  in  vain  to  hear  the 
sizzling  of  the  typhoon  that  came  not,  and  got  up 
next  morning  to  find  the  scare  had  been  for 
nothing.  The  clouds  and  rain  were  clearing  away, 
and  the  prow  of  the  Uranus  was  headed  directly 
for  a  region  of  blue  sky.  By  breakfast-time  there 
was  hardly  a  cloud  in  the  heavens,  the  rooster 
up  for'ard  began  to  crow,  the  mooly-cow  which  we 
were  soon  to  eat  began  to  moo,  the  islands  in  front 


152  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

drew  nearer,  and  the  scene  became  fairer  each  moment. 
At  noon  we  steamed  below  a  great  mountainous  island, 
crossed  a  sound  between  it  and  another  group,  entered 
a  narrow  channel,  and  at  one  o'clock  dropped  anchor 
in  the  small  land-locked  harbor  of  Romblon.  Every- 
where the  hills  fell  abruptly  into  the  water,  and  houses 
looked  as  if  they  had  slid  down  off  the  steep  slopes  to 
hobnob  with  each  other  in  a  mass  below.  There  was 
a  public  bath  down  beside  a  brook,  where  everybody 
came  to  wash,  an  old  church,  the  market-place,  and  a 
prodigious  long  flight  of  steps  leading  up  to  the  upper 
districts,  where  the  view  down  back  over  the  low 
nipa  houses  toward  the  bay  was  most  extensive. 

We  stayed  in  this  little  Garden  of  Eden  until  after 
three  o'clock,  then  pulled  out  to  the  steamer,  and  left 
again  for  the  south,  over  a  calm  sea  and  beneath 
a  glorious  sky.  Some  of  us  slept  on  deck  in  the 
moonlight,  but,  finding  it  if  anything  too  cool  and 
breezy,  were  up  betimes  to  see  the  island  of  Cebu 
looming  on  our  right  hand.  Our  early  six-o'clock 
breakfast  finished,  we  sat  up  on  the  bridge  in  easy- 
chairs,  beneath  the  double  awning,  as  the  Uranus 
poked  down  along  the  mountainous  coast  toward  the 
city  of  Cebu.  At  ten  o'clock  we  passed  through  the 
narrow  channel  that  leads  between  a  small  island  and 
its  big  brother  Cebu,  and  soon  saw  the  white  houses 
of  the  town  lapping  the  harbor's  edge.  Two  Ameri- 


A  Citizen  from  the  Interior. 


YESTERDAYS   IN   THE  PHILIPPINES  153 

can  ships  were  apparently  taking  in  their  cargoes  of 
hemp,  and  beside  them  a  small  fleet  of  native  craft 
and  steamers  smudged  the  little  bay.  Anchor  was 
dropped  again  and  those  of  us  who  cared  to  go  ashore 
met  some  of  our  former  friends  from  Manila  on  'change 
and  took  a  look  over  this  great  hemp-centre  of  the 
South. 

The  local  excitement  was  limited,  and,  except  that 
a  Chinaman  had  been  beheaded  by  some  enemy  the 
night  before  as  he  was  walking  home  through  the 
street,  news  was  scarce.  Numerous  people,  however, 
were  gathered  together  outside  the  police-station, 
looking  at  the  remains,  and  several  sailors  from  the 
American  ships,  who  had  swum  ashore  during  the 
night  to  get  drunk,  were  being  returned  to  their  vessels 
in  charge  of  the  civil  guard. 

The  Uranus  was  not  to  stop  long,  and  most  of  the 
through  passengers  returned  early  to  the  steamer  to 
enjoy  a  view  tempered  by  rather  more  breeze  and  less 
smell  than  that  which  the  narrow  streets  afforded. 
Cebu,  from  the  deck,  was  worthy  of  a  sonnet;  the 
white  houses  and  church  spires  were  set  off  against 
the  dark-green  background  of  mountains,  and  as  the 
sun  got  lower  the  place  did  not  have  the  broiled- 
alive  aspect  that  it  bore  during  the  middle  of  the 
day.  At  four  the  stubby  little  Captain  came  aboard, 
and  soon  we  turned  northeast  for  our  next  stopping- 


154  YESTERDAYS  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

place,  Ormoc.  Another  colored  sunset,  another  din- 
ner in  the  golden  light,  another  moonrise,  another 
sail  up  among  the  islands,  and  at  eleven  on  the 
evening  of  Monday  we  entered  the  harbor  of  Or- 
moc. Here  two  or  three  ponies  were  hoistod  over- 
j  board  to  be  taken  landward,  a  can  of  kerosene  was 
loaded  into  the  purser's  boat  as  he  went  ashore  with 
the  papers,  and  a  little  chorus  of  shoutings  concluded 
our  midnight  visit  to  the  second  stop  of  the  day. 

Tuesday  morning  the  sun  rose  over  the  lofty  moun- 
tains on  the  island  of  Leyte,  and  the  Uranus  shaped 
her  course  for  Catbalogan,  another  of  the  larger 
hemp-ports.  The  steam  up  the  bay  blotched  with 
islands  was  perfection,  and  by  ten  o'clock  the  anchor 
hunted  round  for  a  soft  bed  in  the  ooze,  some  eight 
hundred  yards  off  a  sandy  beach,  above  which  lay  the 
town.  Those  of  us  who  had  energy  enough  to  bolt 
our  hearty  breakfast  were  taken  by  the  jolly-boat  onto 
the  mud  flats,  and  were  carried  through  the  shal- 
low water  on  oars  to  dry  land.  On  the  slopes  of  the 
higher  mountains,  behind  the  town,  the  hemp-plants 
(looking  exactly  like  banana-trees),  grew  luxuriously, 
and  in  front  of  many  of  the  houses  in  "Catbalogan 
the  white  fibre  was  out  drying  on  clothes-lines. 
A  short  taste  of  the  hot  sun  easily  satisfied  our 
curiosity  as  to  Catbalogan,  and  we  were  off  to  the 
ship  again  for  more  breakfast,  just  as  several  hungry- 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  155 

looking  Spanish  guests,  including  the  Governor's 
family,  came  aboard  from  the  town  to  partake  of  a 
meal  hearty  enough  to  last  them  till  the  arrival  of 
the  next  steamer. 

From  Catbalogan  to  its  sister  town,  Tacloban,  four 
hours  to  the  south,  the  course  leads  among  the  nar- 
row straits  between  high,  richly  wooded  islands, 
and  the  scenery  was  most  picturesque.  Here  and 
there  little  white  beaches  gleamed  along  the  shore, 
and  in  front  of  the  nipa  shanties  that  now  and  then 
looked  out  from  among  the  trees  hung  rows  of  hemp 
drying  in  the  sun.  Off  and  on  the  big  waves,  kicked 
up  by  the  forward  movement  of  the  Uranus  in  the 
land-locked  waters,  woke  up  the  stillness  resting  on 
the  banks,  and  nearly  upset  small  banco,  loads  of  the 
white  fibre  which  was  perhaps  being  paddled  down 
to  some  larger  centre  from  more  remote  stamping- 
grounds.  From  the  bridge  our  view  was  most  com- 
prehensive, and  it  wasn't  long  before  the  steamer 
actually  entered  the  river  like  strait  that  separates 
the  islands  of  Samar  and  Leyte.  We  twisted  around 
like  a  snake  through  the  narrow  channel,  on  each  side 
of  which  were  high  hills  and  mountains,  richly  treed 
with  cocoanuts  and  hemp-plants,  and,  just  as  the  sun 
was  getting  low,  hauled  into  Tacloban,  situated  in- 
side an  arm  of  land  that  protects  it  from  the  dashing 
surges  of  the  Apostles'  Bay  beyond. 


156  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

At  Tacloban  there  was  little  to  see.  A  high  range 
of  hills  rose  behind  the  town,  and  in  the  evening 
half-light  everything  looked  more  or  less  attractive. 
We  climbed  a  small  knoll  that  looked  off  over  the  Bay 
of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  to  the  south  and  down  over 
the  village.  The  strait  through  which  we  came 
stretched  up  back  among  the  hills  like  a  river,  and 
in  the  foreground  lay  the  Uranus.  A  number  of 
hemp  store-houses  lined  the  water-front,  and  as  usual 
the  ever-present  Chinese  were  the  central  figures  of 
the  commercial  part  of  the  community.  At  eight 
the  anchor  came  up  once  more,  and  we  left  Tacloban 
to  steam  religiously  down  the  bay  of  St.  Peter  and 
St.  Paul  for  Cabalian,  eight  hours  to  the  south. 

Cabalian  is  another  little  hemp-town,  at  the  foot  of 
a  huge  mountain ;  but  in  the  starlight  of  the  very 
early  morning  we  stopped  there  only  long  enough  to 
leave  the  mail  and  drop  a  pony  overboard.  Sunrise 
caught  us  still  steering  to  the  south,  but  nine  o'clock 
tied  our  steamer  to  a  little  wharf  in  Surigao,  directly 
in  front  of  a  large  hemp-press  and  store-house  belong- 
ing to  the  owners  of  the  ship  on  which  we  were  jour- 
neying. Some  of  the  best  hemp  that  comes  to  the 
Manila  market  is  pressed  at  Surigao,  and  all  around 
were  stacks  of  loose  fibre  drying  in  the  sun  or  being 
separated  into  different  grades  by  native  coolies. 
Several  of  us  left  the  ship  and  walked  to  the  main 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  157 

village,  but,  as  before,  found  little  to  note  except  the 
intense  heat  of  a  boiling  sun. 

There  was  the  customary  hill  behind  the  town,  and 
at  the  risk  of  going  entirely  into  solution  during  the 
effort,  two  of  us  climbed  to  the  top  for  a  breath  of  air 
and  a  panoramic  view. 

Dinner  came  along  as  usual  at  five ;  but  I  must  say 
that  the  more  I  ate  of  those  curiously  timed  meals  the 
less  I  could  accommodate  my  mental  powers  to  the 
comprehension  of  what  I  was  doing.  Everybody 
knows  what  a  difficult  psychological  problem  it  is  to 
determine  the  exact  numerical  nature  of  the  feeling  in 
the  second  and  third  toes  of  his  feet,  as  compared 
with  that  in  the  fingers  of  his  hands.  On  your  hands 
you  can  distinctly  feel  the  first  finger,  the  middle 
finger,  and  the  fourth  finger ;  but  on  your  feet  your 
second  toe  doesn't  feel  like  your  first  finger  nor  as  a 
second  toe  should  naturally  feel.  The  great  toe  cor- 
responds in  sensation  to  one's  first  finger,  and  all  the 
other  toes  save  the  last  seem  to  be  muddled  up  without 
that  differentiated  sensation  which  the  fingers  have. 
And  so  with  these  meals  aboard  ship.  A  ten  o'clock 
breakfast  was  neither  breakfast  nor  luncheon,  and  it 
bothered  me  considerably  to  know  what  in  the  dickens 
I  was  really  eating.  In  fact,  it  affected  my  mind  to 
such  a  degree  that  somehow  the  food  tasted  as  if  it 
did  not  belong  to  any  particular  meal,  but  came  from 


158  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE   PHILIPPINES 

another  order  of  things ;  and  I  spent  long,  serious 
moments  between  the  courses  in  trying  to  locate  the 
repast  in  my  library  of  prehistoric  sensations,  just  as 
I  have  often  tried  to  locate  the  digit  which  my  second 
toe  corresponds  to  in  feeling. 

"We  left  Surigao  an  hour  before  midnight,  sailed 
away  over  moonlit  seas  toward  the  island  of  Cami- 
guin,  and  when  I  stuck  my  head  out  of  the  port-hole 
at  half  after  five  next  morning,  the  two  very  lofty 
mountain-peaks  which  formed  this  sky-scraper  of  the 
Philippines  were  just  ridding  themselves  of  the  garb 
of  darkness.  Three  of  us  went  ashore  at  seven,  and 
were  introduced  to  a  rich  Indian,  who,  although  the 
possessor  of  four  hundred  thousand  dollars,  lived  in  a 
common  little  nipa  house.  He  invited  us  to  see  the 
country,  fitted  us  out  with  three  horses  and  a  mounted 
servant,  and  sent  us  up  into  the  mountains,  where  his 
men  were  working  on  the  hemp-plantations. 

We  started  up  the  sharp  slopes,  and  were  soon  get- 
ting a  wider  and  wider  view  back  over  the  town  and 
blue  bay  below.  First  the  path  was  bounded  with 
rice-fields,  but,  as  we  rose,  the  hemp  plants  which,  as 
before  said,  look  just  like  their  relatives,  the  banana- 
trees,  began  to  hem  us  in.  Now  and  again  we  came 
to  a  little  hut  where  long  strings  of  fibre  were  out 
drying  in  the  sun,  but  our  boy  kept  going  upward 
until  we  were  rising  at  an  angle  of  almost  forty-five 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  159 

degrees.  Everywhere  the  tall  twenty-five-foot  hemp- 
trees  extended  toward  the  mountain  summit  as  far 
as  the  eye  could  carry,  and  we  were  much  interested 
in  seeing  so  much  future  rope  in  its  primogenital 
state.  Up  we  went  across  brooks,  over  rocks,  beneath 
tall,  tropical  hardwood  trees,  nearly  two  hundred  feet 
high,  that  here  and  there  lifted  themselves  up  toward 
heaven  and  at  last  came  to  the  place  where  the  natives 
were  actually  separating  the  hemp  from  strippings  by 
pulling  them  under  a  knife  pressed  down  on  a  block 
of  wood.  The  whole  little  machine  was  so  absurdly 
simple,  with  its  rough  carving-knife  and  rude  levers, 
that  it  hardly  seemed  to  correspond  with  the  elaborate 
transformation  that  took  place  from  the  tall  trees  to 
the  slender  white  fibre  separated  by  the  rusty  blade. 
One  man  could  clean  only  twenty-five  pounds  of  hemp 
a  day,  and  when  it  is  remembered  the  whole  harvest 
consists  of  about  800,000  bales,  or  200,000,000  pounds 
per  year,  it  seems  the  more  remarkable  that  so  rude  an 
instrument  should  have  so  star  a  part  to  play.  We 
each  tried  pulling  the  long,  tough  strippings  under  the 
knife  that  seemed  glued  to  the  block,  but  there  was  a 
certain  knack  which  we  did  not  seem  to  possess,  and 
the  thing  stuck  fast.  All  in  all  this  visit  to  the  hemp- 
cleaners  will  supply  us  with  strong  answers  to  letters 
from  manufacturers  who  have  written  us  to  make 
efforts  in  introducing  heavy  machines  for  separating 


160  YESTERDAYS   IN   THE  PHILIPPINES 

hemp  from  the  parent  tree,  but  who  have  failed  to 
understand  that  a  couple  of  levers  and  a  carving  knife 
are  far  easier  to  carry  up  a  steep  mountain-slope  than 
a  steam  engine,  and  an  arrangement  as  big  as  a  mod- 
ern reaper.  We  lingered  about  all  the  morning  on 
these  up-in-the-air  plantations,  and  at  noon  picked 
our  way  slowly  back  again  over  the  stony  path  to  the 
village,  glad  that  we  didn't  have  to  earn  fifty  cents  a 
day  by  so  laborious  a  method. 

Leaving  our  host  with  a  promise  to  come  ashore 
again  and  use  his  horses  in  the  afternoon,  we  went 
down  to  the  long  pier  and  rowed  off  to  the  Uranus  in 
one  of  the  big  ship's  boats  that  was  feeding  her  emp- 
ty forehold  with  instalments  of  hemp.  In  the  early 
afternoon  we  again  went  ashore,  took  other  ponies 
and  started  off  up  the  coast  toward  a  remarkable  vol- 
cano, which,  though  not  existing  in  1871,  has  since 
been  business-like  enough  to  grow  up  out  of  the  sandy 
beach,  until  it  is  now  a  thousand  feet  high.  A  whole 
town  was  destroyed  during  the  growing  process,  but 
to-day  the  signs  of  activity  are  not  so  evident.  The 
path  up  the  mountain-side  was  terrifically  stony  and 
somewhat  obscure.  Long  creepers  frequently  caught 
us  by  the  neck,  or  wound  themselves  about  our  feet, 
in  attempts  to  rid  the  ponies  of  their  burden.  It  was 
a  laborious  undertaking,  and  it  didn't  look  as  if  we 
should  reach  the  crater  before  dark,  but  we  kept  on 


u 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  161 

ascending,  thinking  each  knoll  would  give  us  that 
longed-for  look  into  the  business  office  of  the  volcano. 
But  in  vain.  It  was  now  getting  so  near  sunset  that  we 
feared  to  lose  the  way,  and,  instead  of  pushing  on 
farther,  we  reluctantly  turned  about  and  went  full 
speed  astern.  The  descent  was  unspeakable ;  the 
horses'  knees  were  tired ;  they  stumbled  badly ;  the 
vines  and  creepers  snarled  us  up,  and  everyone  mut- 
tered yards  of  cuss- words.  On  the  way  down  we  saw 
several  wonderful  views  over  the  hemp-trees  to  the 
coast  below,  met  numerous  natives  cleaning  up  their 
last  few  stalks  of  fibre  for  the  day,  and  at  last  came 
out  once  more  on  the  rough  pasture-road  leading  to 
Mambajao,  off  which  the  Uranus  was  anchored.  It 
was  now  moonlight,  we  all  broke  into  a  gallop  for  the 
Liree-quarter-hour  ride  to  the  village,  and  everybody, 
including  the  jaded  ponies,  thanked  Heaven  when  we 
Cached  the  first  lights  of  the  town. 
Late  the  same  evening  the  Uranus  left,  sailed 
around  the  island's  western  edge  in  the  moonlight, 
and  turned  southward  for  Cagayan,  on  Mindanao 
Island,  the  last  of  the  Philippines  to  resist  subjection 
by  the  Spanish  and  now  the  scene  of  wars  and  con- 
flicts with  the  bloodthirsty  savages  who  are  indige- 
nous to  the  soil. 

Morning  introduced  us  to  a  shaky  wharf  and  to  a 
group  of  gig-drivers,  who  said  the  town  was  fully 


162  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

three  miles  away.  "We  were  in  the  enemy's  country, 
but  nevertheless  two  of  us  started  off  to  walk  to  the 
village,  following  quite  a  party  who  had  already 
taken  the  road.  It  was  an  hour's  plod  along  beneath 
tall  cocoanut-palms  before  we  came  to  the  main  part 
of  the  settlement,  surrounding  the  jail,  court-house, 
and  residence  of  the  Spanish  Governor.  Hard  by  ran 
a  river  spanned  by  a  curious  suspension-bridge.  It 
carried  the  high  road  to  the  village  and  country  on 
the  other  bank,  and  in  our  party  from  the  steamer 
was  an  engineer  who  had  come  down  to  inspect  this 
structure,  which  but  a  short  time  ago  had  utterly 
collapsed  under  the  strain  of  its  own  opening  exercises, 
killing  a  Spaniard,  and  cutting  open  the  head  of  the 
Governor's  wife.  Of  late,  however,  the  bridge  had 
been  repaired,  and  the  question  seemed  to  be,  was  it 
safe  ?  For  my  benefit,  as  I  walked  over  the  long  eight- 
hundred-foot  span,  the  old  bridge  wobbled  around  like 
a  bowl  of  jelly,  and  considering  that  there  were  alli- 
gators in  the  reflective  waters  below,  1  did  not  feel 
I  was  doing  the  right  thing  by  my  camera  and  friends 
to  stay  longer  where  I  was.  Some  of  the  secondary 
cables  were  flimsy  affairs,  and  inspection  revealing  the 
fact  that  the  structure  was  just  one-twentieth  as 
strong  as  it  ought  to  be,  placards  were  put  up  to  the 
effect  that  the  bridge  was  closed  except  for  the  passing 
of  one  person  at  a  time. 


YESTEKDAYS   IN   THE  PHILIPPINES  163 

At  the  bridge  we  fell  into  talk  with  a  pleasant 
Spaniard,  who  was  the  interventor  or  official  go- 
between  in  affairs  concerning  Governor  and  natives. 
We  asked  him  as  to  the  prospects  of  finding  some 
Moro  arms,  knives,  and  shields  in  the  settlement 
for  being  in  a  district  upon  which  a  recent  descent 
had  been  made  it  seemed  as  if  the  town  should  be 
rich  in  bloody  curios.  He  gave  us  some  encourage- 
ment, and  off  we  trotted  across  the  central  plaza  with 
its  old  church,  on  an  expedition  of  search.  It  seems 
that  all  the  houses  around  this  plaza  were  armed  to 
the  teeth,  and  in  time  of  need  the  whole  place 
could  be  transformed  into  a  fort.  Every  house  in 
the  pueblo  had  one  of  the  newest  type  of  Mauser 
rifles  standing  up  in  the  corner,  and  in  fifteen 
minutes  fifteen  hundred  men  could  be  mustered 
ready  armed  to  fight  the  savage  Moros.  We  really 
felt  as  if  we  were  in  one  of  the  Indian  outposts  of 
early  American  days,  and  were  quite  interested  in  the 
conversation  of  our  guide,  who  seemed  to  take  a  great 
liking  to  two  foreigners.  We  went  into  several 
little  huts  where  knives  and  spears  were  hung  upon 
the  doors,  and  succeeded  in  exchanging  many  of  our 
dollars  for  rude,  weird  weapons  with  waving  edges 
or  poisoned  points.  We  passed  several  "tamed" 
Moros  in  the  street  and  took  off  some  bead  neck- 
laces, turbans,  and  bracelets  which  they  had  on. 


164  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE   PHILIPPINES 

Further  search  revealed  shields  and  hats,  and  be- 
fore the  morning  turned  to  afternoon  we  had  visited 
nearly  half  the  houses  in  the  village.  Sometimes  a 
tune  on  the  ever-present  piano,  coaxed  out  by  yours 
truly,  would  bring  a  shield  from  off  the  wall,  and  at 
others  the  more  telling  music  coming  from  the  jing- 
ling dollars  was  more  effectual. 

For  dinner  we  went  to  the  house  of  the  interventor 
to  lunch  on  some  grass  mixed  with  macaroni,  canned 
fish,  bread  and  water,  and  if  I  hadn't  been  so  much  oc- 
pied  with  our  Spanish  conversation  I  might  have  felt 
hungry.  After  the  meal  our  host  wanted  me  to  take 
a  photograph  of  him  and  his  wife  dressed  up  in  a 
discarded  theatrical  costume,  and  it  was  quite  as  lu' 
dicrous  as  anything  on  the  trip.  An  upholstered 
throne — part  of  the  stage-setting  in  their  play  of  the 
week  before — was  rigged  up  in  the  back  yard,  and 
the  sefior  and  sefiora,  robed  as  king  and  queen  of 
Aragon,  put  on  all  the  airs  of  a  royal  family  as  they 
stood  before  the  camera.  These  good  people  pulled 
the  house  to  pieces  to  show  us  wigs,  crowns,  and 
wooden  swords,  and  it  seemed  as  if  we  should  never 
get  away.  Later,  however,  our  good  friend  borrowed 
a  horse  in  one  place,  a  carriage  in  another,  helped  us 
to  go  around  and  collect  our  various  purchases,  pre- 
sented me  with  a  shield  which  he  took  down  off  his 
own  wall,  and  drove  us  back  to  the  steamer.  Here 


YESTERDAYS  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  165 

we  unloaded  all  the  stuff,  and,  surrounded  by  a  curi- 
ous throng  of  questioners,  went  aboard  to  stow  our 
possessions  away.  The  day  had  been  a  prolific  one, 
and,  although  we  had  not  expected  to  go  into  the 
curio  business  on  the  excursion,  our  respective  state- 
rooms were  now  loaded  up  with  gimcracks  that  would 
interest  the  most  rabid  ethnographer. 

Toward  midnight  the  Uranus  steamed  out  of  the 
Bay  of  Cagayan  and  headed  for  Misamis,  still  farther 
south.  Another  calm  night,  and  Saturday  morning 
saw  us  approaching  a  little  collection  of  nipa  huts 
presided  over  by  an  old  stone  fort  and  backed  up  by 
the  usual  high  range  of  mountains.  Two  Spanish 
gunboats,  the  Elcano  and  Ulloa,  all  flags  flying,  in 
honor  of  Sunday  or  something  were  at  anchor  in  the 
Bay,  and  at  eight  o'clock  we  pulled  ashore  to  frit- 
ter away  an  hour  or  so  in  looking  about  an  un- 
interesting village.  There  was  a  saying  here  that  no 
photographer  ever  lived  to  get  fairly  into  the  town, 
for  the  only  two  who  had  ever  come  before  this  way 
were  drowned  in  getting  ashore  from  their  vessels.  As 
I  walked  about  the  streets,  several  Indian  women 
stuck  their  heads  out  of  the  windows  of  their  huts 
seeming  quite  amazed  to  see  a  live  picture-maker,  and 
asked  in  poor  Spanish  how  much  I  would  charge  for 
a  dozen  copies  of  their  inimitable  physiognomies. 

Misamis  business  detained  the  Uranus  but  for  a 


166  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

short  hour,  and  she  then  turned  her  head  across  the 
Bay  eastward  for  Iligan,  the  seat  of  all  the  war  oper- 
ations in  Mindanao.  During  the  two  hours  and  a 
half  that  our  course  led  close  along  the  hostile  shore, 
we  had  breakfast  and  arrived  at  Iligan,  the  most  dis- 
mal place  in  the  world,  about  two  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon.  Everything  looked  down-in-the-mouth 
except  the  thermometer,  and  that  was  up  in  the  roar- 
ing hundreds.  The  town  was  like  all  other  Philip- 
pine villages,  except  that  around  the  outskirts  were 
the  ruins  of  an  old  stockade  with  observation-towers, 
and  in  the  streets  soldiers,  both  native  and  Spanish, 
held  the  corners  at  every  turn. 

While  I  paddled  across  a  creek  to  get  a  photo- 
graph of  some  friendly  savages  on  the  other  bank,  one 
of  my  steamer  friends  went  up  to  the  Government 
house  to  make  a  formal  visit.  It  seems  he  found  no 
one  at  home  except  the  wife  of  one  of  the  high  de- 
partment officials,  and  she  was  reading  the  latest  let- 
ters just  fresh  from  the  mail-bag  of  the  Uranus.  As  I 
got  back  from  across  the  river  I  heard  a  tremendous 
pandemonium  going  on  in  the  upper  story  of  the 
building  in  question,  and  soon  my  fellow-passenger 
came  bolting  down  the  stairs  and  out  into  the  street 
below.  The  poor  woman,  on  reading  in  her  freshly 
opened  letter  that  her  husband,  who  had  but  recently 
gone  up  to  Manila  for  a  week's  stay,  was  an  abscond- 


YESTERDAYS  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  167 

er  to  the  extent  of  some  three  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars, suddenly  lost  her  mind.  He  had  tried  to  get 
across  to  China,  so  it  seemed,  but  was  taken  on  the 
sailing-day  of  the  steamer,  and  the  wife  now  first 
heard  the  news.  So,  as  chairs  and  flower-pots  came 
sailing  out  the  windows  or  down  the  stairs,  we  wise- 
ly decided  to  get  out  of  harm's  way,  and  together 
walked  back  to  the  steamer-landing,  musing  on  Span- 
ish methods  of  pocket-lining. 

The  Moros  themselves  are  sturdy  beggars,  though 
most  picturesque  ones,  and  the  tame  specimens  that 
came  into  Iligan  were  curious  in  the  extreme. 
Dressed  in  native-made  cloths  of  all  colors,  their 
heads  were  ornamented  with  turbans  of  red  and  white 
and  blue,  while  gaudy  sashes  gave  them  an  air  of 
aristocratic  distinction  which  few  of  their  northern 
brothers  possessed.  Some  of  them  black  all  their 
teeth,  others  only  put  war-paint  on  their  two  front 
pairs  of  ivories,  and  while  some  looked  as  if  they  had 
no  chewing  machinery  at  all,  others  appeared  as  if 
they  might  only  have  played  centre  rush  on  a  modern 
foot-ball  team. 

For  years  now  Spain  has  sent  men  and  gun-boats 
down  to  Mindanao  to  wipe  out  the  savages  and 
bring  the  island  under  complete  subjection,  but  with- 
out avail.  Young  boys  from  the  north  have  been 
drafted  into  native  regiments  to  go  south  on  this 


168  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

fatal  errand.  The  prisons  of  Manila  have  been 
emptied  and  the  convicts,  armed  with  bolos  or 
meat-choppers,  have  followed  their  more  righteous 
brethren  to  the  front.  Well-trained  native  troops 
have  gone  there  ;  Spanish  troops  have  gone ;  officers 
have  tried  it,  but  to  no  end.  If,  in  the  storming  of 
some  Moro  stronghold,  a  dozen  miles  back  inland 
from  the  beach,  the  convicts  in  the  front  rank  were 
cut  to  pieces  by  the  enemy,  it  was  of  no  importance. 
If  the  drafted  youths  were  slaughtered,  there  were 
more  at  home.  If  the  native  troops  failed  to  carry 
the  charge,  things  began  to  look  serious.  But  if  the 
Spanish  companies  were  touched,  it  was  time  to  flee. 
Such  have  been  the  tactics  in  this  great  grave-yard, 
and  where  the  Moros  lost  the  day,  fever  stepped  in 
and  won.  The  towns  along  the  coast  are  Spain's, 
but  the  interior  still  swarms  with  savages,  who  are 
there  to  dispute  her  advance  and  are  daily  tramping 
over  the  graves  of  many  of  her  soldiers. 

We  left  Moro  land  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening, 
after  dining  various  officials  who  came  aboard  to 
see  what  they  could  get  to  eat,  and  by  Sunday  morn- 
ing at  sunrise  had  crossed  northward  to  the  island  of 
Bohol,  dropping  anchor  in  Maribojoc,  a  small  unin- 
teresting place  with  an  old  church,  a  Spanish  padre 
who  had  not  been  out  of  town  in  thirty  years  long 
enough  ever  to  see  a  railroad  or  a  telephone,  and  the 


Moro  Chiefs  from  Mindanao.    See  page  ,67. 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  169 

usual  collection  of  thick-lipped  natives.  We  stayed 
here  to  unload  a  lot  of  bulky  school-desks  and  chairs 
destined  to  be  used  by  the  semi-naked  youth  of  the 
vicinity,  and  a  few  of  our  company  went  ashore 
merely  to  walk  lazily  about  the  village. 

Next,  a  second  stop  at  Cebu  for  the  mails  bound 
Manilaward,  a  good-by  for  the  second  time  to  our 
friends,  and  the  Uranus  now  kept  back  down  the 
coast  toward  Dumaguete,  a  prosperous  town  on  the 
rich  sugar-island  of  Negros.  At  ten  o'clock  that 
night  we  were  off  again,  and  Tuesday  noon  ushered 
us  in  to  Iloilo,  the  second  city  of  the  Philippines.  A 
lot  of  "  go-downs  "  (store-houses)  and  dwellings  on  the 
swampy  peninsula  made  a  fearfully  stupid-looking 
place,  and  the  glare  off  the  sheet-iron  roofs  was  blind- 
ing. Scarcely  a  foot  above  tide-water,  Iloilo  was  far 
less  prepossessing  than  Manila,  but  everyone  seemed 
cordial,  and  friends  were  so  glad  to  see  us  that  we 
appeared  to  confer  a  favor  in  stopping  off  to  see  them. 
The  surroundings  of  Iloilo  are  far  more  picturesque 
than  those  of  Manila,  and  just  across  the  bay  a 
wooded  island,  whose  high  altitude  stands  out  in 
bold  contrast  to  the  marshes  over  which  the  city 
steeps,  gave  an  outlook  from  the  town  that  compensat- 
ed for  the  inlook  over  dusty  streets  and  dirty  quays. 
The  English  club  occupied  its  usually  central  position 
in  the  commercial  section  of  the  city,  and  formed  an 


170  YESTEEDAYS  IN   THE  PHILIPPINES 

oasis  of  refreshment  in  the  midst  of  the  thirsty  desert 
of  iron  roofs  surrounding  it.  And  if  any  single  stanza 
of  verse  could  have  been  quoted  to  describe  the  feel- 
ings of  a  newly  arrived  guest,  sitting  in  a  long  chair 
on  the  club  piazza  and  looking  off  at  the  bubbling 
volumes  of  hot  air  rising  from  those  roofs,  it  would 
have  been  that  in  which  the  poet  says : 

"  Where  the  latitude's  mean  and  the  longitude's  low, 
Where  the  hot  winds  of  summer  perennially  blow, 
Where  the  mercury  chokes  the  thermometer's  throat, 
And  the  dust  is  as  thick  as  the  hair  on  a  goat, 
Where  one's  throat  is  as  dry  as  a  mummy  accursed, 
Here  lieth  the  land  of  perpetual  thirst." 

The  afternoon-tea  hour  is  perhaps  more  carefully 
observed  among  the  English  business  houses  here 
than  in  the  capital  to  the  north,  and  we  left  the  very 
good  little  club,  with  its  billiard-tables  and  stale 
newspapers,  to  join  one  of  the  regular  gatherings  in 
the  large  office  of  a  friend.  But  tea,  toast,  jam,  and 
oranges  had  no  sooner  been  set  before  us  than  the  deep 
whistle  of  the  Uranus  sounded,  and  those  of  us  who 
were  going  north  had  to  make  a  hurried  adjournment 
to  the  neighboring  wharf.  Then,  as  everybody  on 
deck  began  to  say  "  adios,"  and  everybody  on  shore 
"  hasta  la  vista,"  the  stubby  little  captain  roared  out 
"avante''  and  our  steamer  started  for  Manila,  two 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  away. 


YESTEEDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  171 

Next  morning  we  got  our  first  taste  of  the  monsoon, 
and  it  came  up  pretty  rough  as  we  crossed  some  of 
the  broad,  open  spaces  between  the  islands.  There 
were  three  dozen  passengers  aboard  ship,  and  every- 
body, including  four  dogs,  was  desperately  sea-sick. 
But  sheltering  islands  soon  brought  relief  to  the  pre- 
vailing misery,  the  dogs  recovered  their  equilibrium 
enough  to  renew  the  curl  in  their  tails,  and  the  heav- 
ing vessel  grew  quite  still.  We  touched  again  at 
Romblon,  on  our  way  up,  long  enough  to  get  the 
mail  and  bring  off  an  unshaven  padre  or  two,  bound 
up  to  the  capital  for  spiritual  refreshment,  and  for 
the  last  time  headed  for  Manila.  The  monsoon 
apparently  went  down  with  the  sun;  we  were  not 
troubled  further  with  heaving  waters,  and  early  on 
Thursday  morning  passed  through  the  narrow  mouth 
of  Manila  Bay,  just  as  the  sun  was  rising  in  the 
east,  and  the  full  moon  setting  over  Mariveles  in  the 
west.  The  Uranus  made  a  short  run  across  the 
twenty-seven  miles  of  water  to  the  anchorage  among 
the  shipping,  and  everybody  bundled  ashore  in  a  noisy 
launch,  almost  before  the  town  had  had  its  breakfast. 

In  the  afternoon,  when  the  steamer  came  into  the 
river,  I  brought  all  of  my  arms,  armor,  and  shells 
ashore  to  the  office,  and  the  American  skippers  who 
were  waiting  for  free  breezes  from  the  punkah 
began  outbidding  each  other  with  offers  of  baked 


172  YESTERDAYS  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

beans  and  doughnuts  for  the  whole  collection.  At 
home,  the  house  had  not  been  blown  away,  but  was 
firm  as  ever;  the  dogs  rejoiced  to  see  me  back;  the 
cat,  with  a  crook  in  her  tail,  purred  extra  loudly; 
the  ponies,  that  had  grown  fat  on  lazy  living,  pawed 
the  stone  floor  in  the  stable;  the  boy  put  flowers 
on  the  table  for  dinner  and  peas  in  the  soup,  and  the 
moon  looked  in  on  us  in  full  dress.  Thus  ended 
a  fortnight's  trip  of  some  two  thousand  miles  down 
through  the  arteries  of  the  archipelago. 


IX 


Club-house  Chaff— Christmas  Customs  and  Ceremonies — New  Year's 
Calls— A  Dance  at  the  English  Club— The  Royal  Exposition  of 
the  Philippines — Fireworks  on  the  King's  Fete  Day — Electric 
Lights  and  the  Natives — The  Manila  Observatory — A  Hospitable 
Governor — The  Convent  at  Antipole. 

December  26th. 

"'A  YOUNG  Bostonian,  in  business  in  the  Philip- 
pines/ that  is  you,  isn't  it  ?  " 

"'Trembling  like  a  blushing  bride  before  the 
altar.' "  "  Well,  blushing  bride,  how  are  you  ?  " 

"'The  bells  in  the  old  church  rang  out  a  wild, 
warning  plea.'  They  did,  did  they  ?  And  did,  'The 
lowing  herd  wind  slowly  o'er  the  lea  ? ' ' 

"  'The  fishermen's  wives  were  sitting  on  their  sauce- 
pans, furniture,  and  babies,  to  keep  them  from  sailing 
off  skyward.'  Poor  things !  Quite  witty,  weren't  they  ?  " 

These  were  some  of  the  expressions  that  greeted 
me  as  I  entered  the  Club  the  other  evening,  about 
two  hours  after  the  last  mail  arrived. 

My  attention  was  called  to  the  bulletin-board  where 
the  official  notices  were  posted,  and  there,  tacked  up 

in  all  its  glory  was  a  printed  copy  of  my  letter  on  the 

173 


174  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

typhoon,  while  on  all  sides  were  various  members  of 
the  English  colony,  laughing  boisterously,  and  poking 
me  in  the  ribs  with  canes  and  billiard-cues.  Some 
of  the  brokers  had  apparently  learned  the  contents 
of  that  fatal  letter  by  heart,  and  stood  on  chairs  recit- 
ing those  touching  lines  in  dialogue  with  unharnessed 
levity. 

To  say  that  I  was  mildly  flummuxed  at  hearing  my 
familiar  verbiage  proceeding  from  the  mouths  of 
others  would  be  mild,  but  it  was  impossible  not  to 
join  in  the  general  laugh,  and  digest,  in  an  offhand 
way,  the  jibes  and  jokes  which  were  epidemic.  It 
seems  my  cautions  have  been  of  no  avail,  and  the 
letter  which  you  so  kindly  gave  the  Boston  editor  to 
read  and  print  was  sent  out  here  to  my  facetious 
friend  the  American  broker,  whose  whole  life  seems  to 
be  spent  in  trying  to  find  the  laugh  on  the  other  man. 
Somebody  else  also  sent  him  a  spare  copy  to  give  to 
his  friends,  and  down  town  at  the  tiffin  club  next  noon, 
my  late  entrance  to  the  breakfast-room  was  a  signal 
for  the  whole  colony  to  suspend  mastication  and  with 
clattering  knives  and  clapping  hands  to  vent  their 
mirth  in  breezy  epithets.  But  jokes  are  few  and  far 
between  in  this  far  Eastern  land,  and  somebody  or 
other  might  as  well  be  the  butt  of  them. 

Just  as  surely  as  the  24th  of  December  comes 
around,  all  the  office-boys  of  your  friends,  who  have 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  175 

perhaps  brought  letters  from  their  counting-room  to 
yours,  all  the  chief  cooks  and  bottle-washers  of 
your  establishment,  all  of  the  policemen  on  the  va- 
rious beats  between  your  house  and  the  club,  and  all 
the  bill-collectors  who  come  in  every  month  to  wheedle 
you  out  of  sundry  dollars,  have  the  cheek  to  ask  for 
pourboires.  Imagine  a  man  coming  around  to  collect 
a  bill,  and  asking  you  to  fee  him  for  being  good 
enough  to  bring  that  document  to  hand.  But  that  is 
just  what  the  Manila  bill-collector  does  at  Christmas- 
tide.  Then  all  of  the  native  fruit-girls,  who  each  day 
climb  the  stairs  with  baskets  of  oranges  on  their 
heads,  come  in  with  little  printed  blessings  and  hold 
out  their  hands  for  fifty  cents. 

Once  out  of  the  office,  you  go  home  to  find  the  ice- 
man, the  ashman,  the  coachman,  and  the  cook  all 
looking  for  tips,  and  you  are  compelled  to  feel  most 
religiously  holy,  as  you  remember  that  it  is  more 
blessed  to  give  than  to  receive. 

Christmas-eve,  somehow,  did  not  seem  natural, 
though  the  town  was  very  lively.  Some  of  the  shops 
had  brought  over  evergreen  branches  from  Shanghai 
to  carry  out  the  spirit  of  the  occasion.  The  streets 
were  crowded  with  shoppers,  everybody  was  carrying 
parcels,  and  if  it  had  been  cold,  we  might  have 
looked  for  Santa  Claus. 

There  are  but  half  a  dozen  English  ladies  in  our 


176  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE   PHILIPPINES 

little  Anglo-Saxon  colony,  and  each  of  them  takes  a 
turn  in  giving  dinners,  asking  as  her  guests,  besides 
a  few  outsiders,  the  other  five.  On  Christmas-eve 
took  place  one  of  these  rather  stereotyped  feasts,  and 
afterward  the  guests  went  down  in  carriages  to  the 
big  cathedral,  that  cost  a  million  dollars,  inside  the 
old  walled  town,  to  hear  the  midnight  mass.  Ac- 
companied by  a  large  orchestra  and  a  good  organ, 
the  mass  was  more  jolly  than  impressive.  The 
music  consisted  of  polkas,  jigs,  and  minuets,  and 
everybody  walked  around  the  great  building,  talk- 
ing and  smiling  most  gracefully.  A  few  of  the  really 
devout  sat  in  a  small  enclosed  space  in  the  centre  of 
the  church,  but  they  found  it  hard  to  keep  awake, 
and  their  eyes  were  red  with  weeping,  not  for  the 
sins  of  an  evil  world,  but  from  opening  and  shutting 
their  jaws  in  a  series  of  yawns. 

Just  before  the  hour  of  midnight,  comparative 
quiet  ensued  with  the  reading  of  a  solemn  prayer  or 
two,  but  just  as  the  most  reverend  father  who  was 
conducting  the  ceremonies  finished  bowing  behind 
the  high  gold  and  velvet  collar  to  his  glittering  gown, 
thirteen  bells  wagged  their  tongues  that  broke  up 
the  stillness  of  the  midnight,  and  everybody  wished 
everybody  else  "  Felices  Pascuas ! "  (Merry  Christ- 
mas !)  The  organ  tuned  up,  the  boy-choir  sang  itself 
red,  white,  and  blue,  the  priestly  assistants  swung 


u 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  177 

the  censors  until  the  church  was  heavy  with  fra- 
grance, and  all  those  who  had  nothing  else  to  do 
yawned  and  wished  they  were  in  bed. 

After  staying  a  little  longer,  our  party  left,  and 
went  over  to  the  Jesuit  Church  near  by,  where  a  very 
good  orchestra  seemed  to  be  playing  a  Virginia  reel. 
Here  were  similar  ceremonies  modified  somewhat  to 
suit  the  rather  different  requirements  of  the  Order, 
and  after  staying  long  enough  not  to  appear  as  in- 
truding spectators,  we  made  our  exit. 

And  now  that  Christmas  is  all  over,  everybody 
seems  to  be  wearing  a  new  hat,  the  most  appropriate 
present  that  can  be  given  in  this  land  of  sun-strokes 
and  fevered  brows. 

January  5th. 

The  new  year  has  come  and  gone,  though  out  this 
way  no  one  believes  in  turning  over  a  new  leaf. 

It  seems  to  be  a  custom  to  start  the  year  by  calling 
on  all  the  married  ladies  of  the  colony,  who  make 
their  guests  loquacious  with  sundry  little  cocktails 
that  stand  ready  prepared  on  the  front  verandas. 
Everybody  makes  calls,  till  he  forgets  where  anything 
but  his  head  is  situated,  and  then  brings  up  at  the 
club  out  by  the  river-bank  more  or  less  the  worse  for 
wear.  In  honor  of  the  day,  the  menu  was  most 
attractive,  but  many  of  the  party  were  in  no  condition 
to  partake,  and  spent  the  first  day  of  the  new  calen- 


178  YESTEEDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

dar  in  suffering  from  the  effects  of  their  morning 
visits. 

With  the  new  year  came  the  dance,  which  we  bach- 
elor members  of  the  club  gave  to  the  English  ladies 
in  particular  and  to  Manila  society  in  general,  as  a 
small  return  for  hospitality  received,  and  it  was  de- 
clared a  huge  success.  The  club-house  was  decor- 
ated from  top  to  toe.  Two  or  three  hundred  invita- 
tions were  sent  out,  and  the  creme  de  la  creme  of  the 
European  population  were  on  hand,  including  Gen- 
eral Blanco,  the  governor  of  the  islands. 

The  English  club  rarely  gives  a  dance  more  than 
once  in  five  years,  and  when  the  engraved  invitations 
first  appeared  there  was  much  talk  and  hobnobbing 
among  the  Spaniards  to  see  who  had  and  who  had 
not  been  invited.  All  the  greedy  Dons  who  had  ever 
met  any  of  the  clubmen  expected  to  be  asked,  and 
considered  it  an  insult  not  to  receive  an  invitation. 
One  high  official,  who  had  himself  been  invited,  wrote 
to  the  committee  seeking  an  invitation  for  some 
friends.  As,  of  course,  only  a  limited  number  could 
be  accommodated  at  the  club-house,  the  invitations 
were  strictly  limited,  and  a  reply  was  sent  to  the 
Spanish  gentleman  in  question,  stating  that  there 
were  no  more  invitations  to  be  had. 

"  Do  you  mean  to  insult  me  and  my  friends  ?  "  he 
wrote,  "by  saying  that  there  are  no  more  invitations 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  179 

left  for  them  ?  Do  yon  inean  to  say  that  my  friends 
axe  not  gentlemen,  and  so  you  won't  ask  them  ?  I 
must  insist  on  an  explanation,  or  satisfaction." 

For  several  days  before  the  party  one  might  have 
heard  young  women  and  girls  who  walked  up  and 
down  the  Luneta  talking  nothing  but  dance,  and  the 
Spanish  society  seemed  to  be  divided  up  into  two 
distinct  cliques,  the  chosen  and  the  uninvited. 

The  chosen  proceeded  at  once  to  starve  themselves 
and  use  what  superfluous  dollars  they  could  collect 
in  buying  new  gowns  at  the  large  Parisian  shops  on 
the  Escolta.  Most  of  the  Spanish  women  in  Manila 
can  well  afford  to  be  abstemious  and  devote  the  sur- 
plus thus  obtained  to  the  ornamentation  of  their  per- 
sons, since  they  are  so  fairly  stout  that  the  fires  of 
their  appetite  can  be  kept  going  some  time  after  actual 
daily  food-supplies  have  been  cut  off.  The  men,  how- 
ever, seem  to  be  as  slender  as  the  women  are  robust, 
and  they,  poor  creatures,  cannot  endure  a  long  fast. 
Nevertheless,  the  cash-drawers  of  the  Paris  shops  got 
fat  as  the  husbands  of  the  wives  who  bought  new 
gowns  there  grew  more  slender ;  and  just  before  the 
ball  came  off  these  merchant  princes  of  the  Philippines 
actually  offered  to  contribute  five  hundred  dollars  if 
another  dance  should  be  given  within  a  short  time, 
so  great  had  been  the  rush  of  patrons  to  their  attrac- 
tive counters. 


180  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

To  make  a  long  story  short,  after  a  lot  of  squab- 
bles and  wranglings  among  those  who  were  invited 
and  those  who  were  not,  the  night  of  the  party  came, 
and  only  those  who  held  the  coveted  cards  were  per- 
mitted by  the  giants  at  the  door  to  enter  Paradise. 

Japanese  lanterns  lighted  the  road  which  led  from 
the  main  highway  to  the  club,  and  the  old  rambling 
structure  was  aglow  with  a  thousand  colored  cup- 
lights  that  made  it  look  like  fairyland.  Within  and 
without  were  dozens  of  palms  and  all  sorts  of  tropi- 
cal shrubs,  and  the  entrance-way  was  one  huge 
bower-like  fernery.  Around  the  lower  entrance- 
room  colored  flags  grouped  themselves  artistically, 
and  below  a  huge  mass  of  bunting  at  the  farther 
end  rose  the  grand  staircase  that  led  above.  Up- 
stairs, the  ladies'  dressing-room  was  most  gorgeous, 
and  the  walls  were  hung  with  costly,  golden-wove 
tapestries  from  Japan.  The  main  parlor  formed  one 
of  the  dancing-rooms  and  opened  into  two  huge  ad- 
joining bed-chambers  which  were  thrown  together  in 
one  suite.  All  around  the  walls  and  ceilings  were  gar- 
lands  and  long  festoons  and  wreaths,  and  everywhere 
were  bowers  of  plants,  borrowed  mirrors,  and  lights. 

Out  on  the  veranda,  overhanging  the  river,  were 
clusters  of  small  tables,  glowing  under  fairy  lamps, 
and  the  railings  were  a  mass  of  verdure. 

The  orchestra  consisted   of    twenty-five  natives, 


YESTEEDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  181 

dressed  in  white  shirts  whose  tails  were  not  tucked 
in,  hidden  behind  a  forest  of  plants,  and  as  the  clock 
struck  ten  they  began  to  coax  from  their  instruments 
a  dreamy  waltz.  The  guests  began  to  pour  in — 
Spanish  dons  with  their  corpulent  wives,  and  strap- 
ping Englishmen  with  their  leaner  better  halves. 
The  Spaniards,  sniffing  the  air,  all  looked  longingly 
toward  the  supper-rooms,  while  the  ladies  who  came 
with  them  ambled  toward  the  powder  and  paint 
boxes  in  the  boudoir.  I  suppose  about  two  hundred 
people  in  all  were  on  hand,  and  the  sight  was  indeed 
gay.  After  every  one  had  become  duly  hot  from 
dancing  or  duly  hungry  from  waiting,  supper  was 
served,  and  there  was  almost  a  panic  as  the  Spanish 
element  with  one  accord  made  for  the  large  room  at 
the  extreme  other  end  of  the  building,  where  dozens 
of  small  tables  glistened  below  candelabra  with  red 
shades,  and  improvised  benches  groaned  under  the 
weight  of  a  great  variety  of  refreshments. 

Soon  the  slender  caballeros  got  to  look  fatter  in 
the  face,  and  the  double  chins  of  their  ladies  grew 
doubler  every  moment.  Knives,  forks,  and  spoons 
were  all  going  at  once,  and  talk  was  suspended.  But 
the  room  presented  a  pretty  sight,  with  its  fourscore 
couples  sitting  around  beneath  the  swaying  pun- 
kahs, and  the  soft  warm  light  made  beauties  out  of 
many  ordinary-looking  persons. 


182  YESTERDAYS  IN  THE   PHILIPPINES 

After  everybody  was  satisfied,  dancing  was  re- 
sumed in  the  big  front  rooms  on  the  river,  and  the 
gayety  went  on ;  but  the  heavy  supper  made  many  of 
the  foreign  guests  grow  dull,  and  the  cool  hours  of 
early  morning  saw  everyone  depart,  carrying  with 
them  or  in  them  food  enough  for  many  days. 

Thus  ended  the  great  ball  given  to  balance  the 
debt  of  hospitality  owed  by  the  bachelors  to  their 
married  friends,  and  now  will  come  the  committee's 
collectors  for  money  to  pay  the  piper. 

January  31st. 

Manila  has  been  quite  outdoing  herself  lately,  and 
the  gayeties  have  been  numerous.  The  opening  of 
the  Royal  Exposition  of  the  Philippines  took  place 
last  week,  and  was  quite  as  elaborate  as  the  name 
itself. 

The  Exposition  buildings  were  grouped  along  the 
raised  ground  filled  in  on  the  paddy-fields,  by  the 
side  of  the  broad  avenue  that  divides  our  suburb  of 
Malate  from  that  of  Ermita,  and  runs  straight  back 
inland  from  the  sea.  The  architecture  is  good,  the 
buildings  numerous,  and  with  grounds  tastefully  dec- 
orated with  plants  and  fountains,  it  is,  in  a  way,  like 
a  pocket  edition  of  the  Chicago  Exposition. 

Everybody  in  town  was  invited  to  attend  the  open 
ing  ceremonies  by  a  gorgeously  gotten-up  invitation, 


YESTERDAYS  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  183 

and  interesting  catalogues  of  the  purpose  of  the  ex- 
hibition and  its  exhibits  were  issued  in  both  Spanish 
and  English.  To  be  sure,  the  language  in  the 
catalogue  translated  from  the  Spanish  was  often 
ridiculous,  and  announcements  were  made  of  such 
exhibits  as  "Collections  of  living  animals  of  laboring 
class,"  and  "  tabulated  prices  of  transport  terrestrial 
and  submarine."  But  all  of  the  elite  of  Manila  were 
on  hand  at  the  ceremonies,  from  the  Archbishop  and 
Governor-General  down  to  my  coachman's  wife,  and 
bands  played,  flags  waved  in  the  fresh  breeze,  tongues 
wagged,  guns  fired,  and  whistles  blew.  General 
Blanco  opened  the  fair  with  a  well- worded  speech  on 
the  importance  of  the  Philippines,  of  the  debt  that 
the  inhabitants  owed  to  the  protection  of  the  mother- 
country,  and  of  the  great  future  predestined  for  the 
Archipelago.  And  just  as  the  speaker  had  finished 
and  the  closing  hours  of  the  day  arrived,  the  new 
electric  lights  were  turned  on  for  the  first  tima 
Then  all  Manila,  hitherto  illuminated  by  the  dull  and 
dangerous  petroleum  lamps,  shone  forth  under  the 
radiance  of  several  hundred  arc-lights  and  a  couple 
of  thousand  incandescent  ones. 

The  improvement  is  tremendous,  aud  the  streets, 
which  have  always  been  dim  from  an  excess  of  real 
tropical,  visible,  feelable,  darkness,  are  now  respect- 
ably illuminated. 


184  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

The  exposition  was  opened  on  the  name-day  of  the 
little  King  of  Spain,  and  every  house  in  town  was  re- 
quested, if  not  ordered,  to  hang  out  some  sort  of  a 
flag  or  decoration.  It  was  said  that  a  tine  of  $5 
would  be  charged  to  those  who  did  not  garb  their 
shanties  in  colors  of  some  sort,  and  all  the  natives 
were  particular  to  obey  the  law.  It  was  indeed 
instructive,  if  not  pathetic,  to  see  shawls,  colored 
handkerchiefs,  red  table-cloths,  carpets,  and  even 
sofa-cushions,  hanging  out  of  windows,  or  on  poles 
from  poverty-stricken  little  nipa  huts,  and  any  article 
with  red  or  yellow  in  it  seemed  good  enough  to  an- 
swer the  purpose.  We,  in  turn,  were  also  officially 
requested  to  show  our  colors,  and  I  hung  out  two  bath- 
wraps  from  our  front  window,  articles  which  I  had 
picked  up  on  the  recent  excursion  to  Mindanao,  and 
which  the  wild  savages  there  wear  down  to  the  river 
when  they  go  to  wash  clothes  or  themselves.  But 
they  likewise  had  enough  red  and  yellow  in  their 
composition  to  fill  the  bill,  and,  together  with  five 
pieces  of  red  flannel  from  my  photographic  dark- 
room, our  windows  showed  a  most  prepossessing  ap- 
pearance. 

On  the  Sunday  after  the  King's  name-day,  a  costly 
display  of  fireworks  took  place  off  the  water,  in 
front  of  the  Luneta,  further  to  celebrate  the  occasion. 
The  bombs  and  rockets  were  ignited  from  large  floats 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  185 

anchored  near  the  shore,  while  complicated  set- 
pieces  were  erected  on  tall  bamboos  standing  up  in 
the  water  and  bolstered  from  behind  with  supports 
and  guy-lines.  The  exhibition  began  shortly  after 
dinner,  and  never  had  I  seen  a  crowd  of  such  large 
dimensions  before  in  Manila.  There  must  have  been 
twenty- five  thousand  people  jammed  into  the  near 
vicinity  of  the  promenade,  and  a  great  sea  of  faces 
islanded  hundreds  of  traps  of  all  species  and  genders. 

The  display  was  excellent,  and  both  of  the  large 
military  bands  backed  it  up  with  good  music.  One  of 
the  set  pieces  was  a  royal  representation  of  a  full- 
rigged  man-of-war  carrying  the  Spanish  flag,  and  she 
was  shown  in  the  act  of  utterly  annihilating  an  iron-clad 
belonging  to  some  indefinite  enemy.  The  reflections 
in  the  water  doubled  the  beauty  of  the  scene,  and 
with  rockets,  bombs,  mines,  parachutes,  going  up  at 
the  same  time,  there  was  little  intermission  to  the 
excitement.  Several  rockets  came  down  into  the 
crowd,  and  one  alighted  on  the  back  of  a  pony,  caus- 
ing him  to  start  off  on  somewhat  of  a  tangent. 
Otherwise  there  were  no  disasters,  and  it  was  nearly 
midnight  before  the  great  audience  scattered  in  all 
directions. 

The  electric  lights,  of  course,  are  of  tremendous 
interest  to  the  more  ignorant  natives,  and  every 
evening  finds  groups  of  the  latter  gathered  around  the 


186  YESTERDAYS  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

posts  supporting  the  arc-lamps,  looking  upward  at  the 
sputtering  carbon,  or  examining  the  bugs  which  lose 
their  life  in  attempting  to  make  closer  analyses  of 
the  artificial  suns. 

A  fresh  edition  of  the  opera  company  has  come  out 
again  from  Italy,  and  performances  are  given  Tues- 
days, Thursdays,  and  Sundays.  Everybody,  as  usual, 
is  allowed  behind  the  scenes  during  the  intermis- 
sions, and  the  other  evening,  in  the  middle  of  a  most 
pathetic  scene  in  "  Faust,"  a  Yankee  skipper,  some- 
what the  jollier  from  a  shore  dinner,  walked  directly 
across  the  back  of  the  stage  and  took  his  hat  off  to 
the  audience.  Episodes  like  this  are  hardly  common, 
but  in  Manila  there  are  not  the  barriers  to  the  stage- 
door  that  exist  in  the  U.  S.  A.  The  artillery-band 
on  the  Luneta  has  several  times  played  the  "  Wash- 
ington Post  March  "  which  you  sent  me,  and  which 
I  gave  to  the  fat,  pleasant-faced  conductor.  The 
championship  games  at  the  tennis-court  have  begun, 
and  all  of  the  English  colony  generally  assemble  there 
to  see  the  play  just  before  sunset.  Small  dinners 
and  dances  are  also  numerous,  and  the  cool  weather 
seems  to  be  incubating  gayety. 

February  22d. 

Manila  is  said  to  have  the  most  complete  astronom- 
ical, meteorological,  and  seismological  observatory 
anywhere  east  of  the  Mediterranean.  Not  to  miss 


YESTERDAYS   IN   THE   PHILIPPINES  187 

anything  of  such  reputation,  several  of  us  decided  to 
make  a  call  on  Padre  Faure,  who  presides  over  the 
institution,  and  who  is  well  known  scientifically  all 
over  the  world.  At  the  observatory  we  were  cordially 
received  by  an  assistant,  who  spoke  English  well 
enough  to  turn  us  off  from  using  Spanish,  and  were 
conducted  over  the  establishment.  Here  were 
machines  which  would  write  down  the  motions  of 
the  earth  in  seismological  disturbances,  and  which 
conveyed  to  the  ear  various  subterranean  noises 
going  on  below  the  surface.  Still  other  instruments 
were  so  delicate  that  they  rang  electric  bells  when 
mutterings  took  place  far  underground,  and  thus 
warned  the  observers  of  approaching  trouble.  An- 
other, into  which  you  could  look,  showed  a  moving 
black  cross  on  a  white  ground,  that  danced  at  all  the 
slight  tremblings  continually  going  on;  and  the 
rumbling  of  a  heavy  cart  over  the  neighboring  high- 
road would  make  it  tremble  with  excitement.  A 
solid  tower  of  rock  twenty  feet  square  extended  up 
through  the  building  from  bottom  to  top,  and  was  en- 
tirely disconnected  with  the  surrounding  structure. 
On  this  column  all  of  the  earthquake-instruments  were 
arranged;  and  any  sort  of  an  oscillation  that  took 
place  would  be  recorded  in  ink  on  charts  arranged  for 
the  purpose.  Various  wires  and  electric  connections 
were  everywhere  visible,  and  an  approaching  disturb- 


188  YESTERDAYS  IN  THE   PHILIPPINES 

ance  would  be  sure  to  set  enough  bells  and  tickers 
a-going  to  arouse  one  of  the  attendants. 

The  great  school-building  in  which  the  observatory 
was  placed  was  fully  six  hundred  feet  square,  with  a 
large  court-yard  in  the  centre  containing  fountains 
and  tropical  plants  in  profusion.  After  leaving  the 
lower  portions  of  the  building,  we  ascended  through 
long  hallways,  to  visit  the  meteorological  department 
above.  Barometers,  thermometers,  wind-gauges,  rain- 
measurers,  and  all  sorts  of  recording  instruments  filled 
a  most  interesting  room ;  and  Padre  Faure  gave  us  a 
long  discourse  on  typhoons,  earthquakes,  and  various 
other  phenomena.  From  the  roof  of  the  observatory 
a  splendid  view  of  the  city,  Bay,  and  adjacent  coun- 
try may  be  had,  and  Manila  lay  before  us  steaming 
in  the  sun.  Before  leaving,  we  saw  the  twenty -inch 
telescope,  constructed  in  Washington  under  the  di- 
rection of  the  Padre  who  was  our  guide,  which  is  soon 
to  be  installed  in  a  special  building  constructed  for  the 
purpose.  He  seemed  much  impressed  by  the  United 
States,  and  at  our  departure  presented  us  with  one 
of  the  monthly  observatory  reports,  which  give  the 
;  whole  story  of  the  movements  of  the  earth,  winds, 
heavens,  tides,  stars,  and  clouds,  at  every  hour  of  the 
day  and  night,  for  every  day  during  the  month,  and 
for  every  month  during  the  year. 

Last  Monday  was  again  the  usual  bank-holiday; 


YESTERDAYS  IN  THE   PHILIPPINES  189 

and  on  the  Saturday  before,  the  customary  three  of 
us  who  seem  to  be  more  energetic  at  seeing  the  coun- 
try than  our  friends,  decided  to  take  another  excur- 
sion up  the  river  into  the  hill-country. 

In  the  forenoon  we  gave  orders  to  the  boys  to  get 
ready  the  provisions,  and  meet  us  at  the  club-house 
in  the  early  afternoon.  Our  plan  was  to  take  one  of 
the  light  randans  from  the  boat-house,  row  up  the 
river  for  twelve  or  fifteen  miles,  take  carromatas  up 
into  the  hills  to  a  place  called  Antipolo,  and  finally 
to  horseback  it  over  the  mountains  to  Bossa  Bossa, 
a  lonely  hill  village,  ten  miles  farther  on. 

The  time  came.  All  of  our  goods  and  chattels  were 
piled  into  the  boat.  We  took  off  white  coats,  put  on 
our  big  broad-brimmed  straw  hats,  turned  up  our 
trouserloons,  and  prepared  for  a  long  row  up  against 
the  current.  But,  thanks  to  Providence,  we  were  able 
to  hitch  onto  one  of  the  stone-lighters  that  regularly 
bring  rock  down  from  the  lake  district,  for  use  on  the 
new  breakwater  and  port-works  at  Manila,  and  which 
was  being  towed  up  for  more  supplies.  The  sun  got 
lower  and  lower,  and  finally  set,  just  as  the  moon  rose 
over  the  mountains.  The  sail  in  the  soft  light  of 
evening  was  very  picturesque,  and  the  banks  were 
lined  with  the  usual  collection  of  native  huts,  in  front 
of  which  groups  of  natives  were  either  washing  clothes 
or  themselves.  Large  freight  cascos  or  small  bancas 


190          YESTEKDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

were  either  being  poled  up-stream  by  heated  boat- 
men, or  were  drifting  lazily  down  with  the  current, 
and  everywhere  a  sort  of  indolent  attractiveness  pre- 
vailed. We  continued  on  behind  the  lighter  until  al- 
most at  the  lake  itself ;  then  cast  adrift  and  branched 
off  into  a  small  side-stream  that  ran  up  toward  the 
hills  in  a  northerly  direction. 

On  we  wound,  now  between  a  deep  fringe  of  bam- 
boo -  trees,  now  between  open  meadows,  now  be- 
tween groups  of  thatched  huts,  and  again  through 
clumps  of  fish-weirs,  coming  at  last  to  a  town  called 
Cainta,  nearly  an  hour's  row  from  the  main  stream. 
We  stopped  beneath  an  old  stone  bridge  that  carried 
the  main  turnpike  to  Manila  from  the  mountains,  and 
were  greeted  by  all  the  towns-people,  who  were  out 
basking  in  the  moonlight.  They  had  evidently  never 
seen  a  boat  of  the  randan  type  before,  and  expressed 
much  curiosity  at  the  whole  equipment.  Before  many 
moments  the  governor  of  the  village  appeared  in  the 
background  and  asked  us  to  put  up  at  his  residence. 
Ten  willing  natives  seized  upon  our  goods  and  chat- 
tels, others  pulled  the  boat  up  on  the  sloping  bank, 
and  we  adjourned  to  the  small  thatched  house  where 
lived  our  host.  The  Filipinos  gathered  around  out- 
side, the  privileged  ones  came  in,  and  everybody 
stared.  The  governor  did  everything  for  our  amuse- 
ment ;  called  in  singing-girls,  with  an  old  chap  who 


YESTERDAYS  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  191 

played  on  the  guitar,  and  otherwise  arranged  for 
our  entertainment.  At  eleven  he  said  "Shoo  "and 
everybody  left.  His  wife  gave  us  pieces  of  straw 
matting  to  sleep  on,  and  we  stretched  out  upon  one 
of  those  familiar  floors  of  bamboo  slats  which  make 
one  feel  like  a  pair  of  rails  on  a  set  of  cross-ties. 

Later  the  family  all  turned  in  on  the  floor  in  the 
same  manner,  and  soon  the  cool  night-wind  was 
whistling  up  through  the  apertures. 

Next  morning,  Sunday,  a  hot  dusty  ride  of  an  hour 
and  a  half,  over  a  fearful  road,  continually  ascending, 
brought  us  to  Antipolo,  a  stupid  village  commanding 
a  grand  view  over  the  plains  toward  Manila  and  the 
Bay  beyond.  To  find  out  where  we  could  get  ponies 
to  take  us  over  the  rough  foot-path  to  Bossa  Bossa, 
we  called  at  the  big  convento  where  live  the  priests 
who  officiate  at  the  great  white  church,  whose  tower 
is  visible  from  the  capital.  Mass  was  just  over,  but 
the  stone  corridors  reverberated  with  loud  jestings 
and  the  click  of  billiard-balls  above.  On  going  up- 
stairs, we  broke  in  upon  a  group  of  padres  playing 
billiards,  drinking  beer,  smoking  cigars,  and  cracking 
jokes  ad  libitum.  They  received  us  cordially,  did 
not  seem  inclined  to  talk  much  on  religious  subjects, 
but  advised  us  where  we  might  find  the  necessary 
horseflesh.  Not  so  much  impressed  with  their  spirit- 
uality as  with  their  courtesy,  we  left,  got  three  ponies 


192          YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

and  two  carriers,  and  started  out  for  the  ride  over  the 
mountains. 

The  path  was  narrow  and  steep,  the  sun  was  hot, 
but  the  scenery  was  good.  On  and  up  we  went,  until 
the  view  back  and  down  over  the  lower  country  be- 
came most  extensive.  Across  brooks,  over  stones, 
through  gullies,  and  over  trees  carried  us  to  the  last 
rise,  and  after  passing  through  a  grove  of  mangoes 
we  came  to  the  edge  of  the  ridge.  Down  below,  in  a 
fair  little  valley  that  looked  like  a  big  wash-basin, 
lay  Bossa  Bossa,  a  small  collection  of  houses  shut- 
ting in  a  big  church  without  any  steeple.  Squarely 
up  behind,  on  the  other  side  of  the  valley,  rose  the 
lofty  peaks  of  the  Cordilleras,  and  the  scene  was 
good  enough  for  the  most  critical. 

On  descending  to  the  isolated  little  pueblo,  we  got 
accommodation  in  the  best  house  of  the  place,  belong- 
ing to  the  native  Governor,  and  adjourned  for  rest 
and  refreshments.  All  we  had  left  to  eat  in  our 
baskets  were  two  cold  chickens,  three  biscuits,  and 
four  bottles  of  soda.  We  sent  out  for  more  food,  and 
in  half  an  hour  a  boy  came  back  with  the  only  articles 
that  the  market  afforded — two  cocoanuts.  The  house 
in  which  we  were  seemed  to  be  the  only  one  in  town 
that  possessed  a  chair,  and,  as  it  was,  we  found  it 
more  comfortable  to  sit  on  the  floor.  This  was  the 
centre  of  the  great  hunting-district,  and  all  around  in 


A  Half  Caste.    The  Little  Flower-girl  at  the  Opera.    See  page 


YESTEEDAYS   IN  THE   PHILIPPINES  193 

the  hills  and  mountains  deer  and  wild  boar  were 
abundant.  During  the  following  night  it  got  so  cold 
that  it  was  possible  to  see  one's  breath,  and  without 
coverings  as  we  were,  the  whole  party  dreamed  of  arctic 
circles  and  polar  bears.  At  daylight  next  morning, 
numb  with  the  cold,  we  sat  down  to  a  breakfast  con- 
sisting of  carabao  milk  and  hard  bread  made  of 
pounded-rice  flour,  and  felt  pretty  fairly  well  removed 
from  tropics  and  civilization.  The  old  church,  which 
we  could  see  out  of  the  window,  stood  in  a  small  plaza, 
and  the  steeple,  which  consisted  of  four  tall  posts 
covered  by  a  small  roof  of  thatch  that  protected  a 
group  of  bells  from  the  morning  dew,  was  off  by 
itself  in  a  corner  of  the  churchyard.  A  long  clothes- 
line seemed  to  lead  from  the  bells  to  a  native  house 
across  the  street,  and  we  learned  that  the  sexton  was 
accustomed  to  lie  in  bed  and  ring  the  early  morning 
chimes  by  wagging  his  right  foot,  to  which  the  string 
was  attached. 

On  the  return  trip  we  met  a  large  party  of  hunters 
coming  up  from  Manila  for  a  week's  deer-shooting, 
and  by  noon  got  back  to  Antipolo,  where  we  rested 
in  the  police-station  to  wait  for  our  carromatas  that 
were  to  arrive  at  one  o'clock. 

The  return  to  Cainta  was  as  hot  and  dusty  as  the 
advance,  but  we  were  pleasantly  received  by  our 
friend  the  governor,  who  had  instructed  the  "  boys"  to 


194  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

have  the  refreshments  ready  for  us.  Later  in  the 
afternoon,  we  prepared  to  return  to  the  metropolis, 
and  the  whole  village  came  down  to  see  us  off.  The 
governor  refused  to  accept  money  for  the  use  of  his 
house,  we  were  all  invited  to  come  again,  and  amid 
a  chorus  of  cheers  we  shoved  off  for  Manila. 

The  row  down  took  only  three  hours,  but  on  getting 
to  the  club,  at  moonrise,  it  seemed  as  if  we  had  been 
away  three  weeks. 


Exacting  Harbor  Regulations— The  Eleanor  takes  French  Leave— Loss 
of  the  Gravina — Something  about  the  Native  Ladies — Ways  of 
Native  Servants — A  Sculptor  who  was  a  Dentist — Across  the 
Bay  to  Orani— Children  in  Plenty— A  Public  Execution  by  the 
Garrote. 

April  19th. 

IF  a  ship  in  the  Bay  desires  to  load  or  discharge 
cargo  on  Sundays  or  religious  holidays,  permission 
can  only  be  obtained  through  the  Archbishop,  not 
the  Governor-General.  The  Easter  season  has  come 
and  gone,  and  as  the  Captain  of  the  Esmeralda  could 
not  successfully  play  on  the  feelings  of  that  highest 
dignitary  of  the  church,  his  steamer  had  to  lie  idle 
for  the  holidays,  and  so  miss  connecting  with  the 
Peking,  which  ought  to  have  taken  the  United  States 
mail. 

The  American  yacht  Eleanor  dropped  anchor  in  the 
Bay  the  other  afternoon,  and  it  seemed  good  again  to 
see  the  countenances  of  some  of  our  countrymen.  It 
appears  the  Spanish  officials  did  not  consent  to  treat 
her  with  the  courtesy  which  a  yacht  or  war-ship  mer- 
its, and  went  so  far  as  to  station  carabineros  on  her 

decks,  as  is  customary  on  merchant-vessels  to  prevent 

195 


196  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

smuggling.  The  Eleanor  presented  a  fine  appear- 
ance as  she  lay  among  the  fleet  of  more  prosaic  craft, 
aud  her  rails  were  decorated  with  Gatling  guns  put 
there  for  the  voyage  up  through  the  southern  archi- 
pelagoes where  pirates  reign.  On  the  Wednesday 
before  Holy  Thursday,  the  owner  of  the  Eleanor 
decided  to  start  for  Hong  Kong,  that  his  guests  might 
enjoy  Easter  Sunday  in  those  more  civilized  districts 
that  surround  the  English  cathedral.  The  yacht, 
like  any  merchantman,  was  obliged  to  get  her  clear- 
ance papers  from  the  custom-house  before  she  sailed, 
and  to  that  end  the  Captain  went  ashore  shortly  after 
midday.  But  the  chief  of  the  harbor  office  had  gone 
home  for  a  siesta,  remarking  that  he  would  not  return 
until  Monday,  and  that  any  business  coming  up  would 
have  to  wait  till  then  for  attention. 

"  But  I  must  have  my  papers,"  said  the  Captain, 
"  for  we  leave  to-night  for  China." 

"  Them  you  cannot  have  till  Monday,"  replied  the 
hireling  in  charge. 

"Then  I  shall  have  to  sail  without  them,"  an- 
swered the  Captain,  and  he  stormed  out  of  the  office 
to  find  our  consul,  whom  he  hoped  would  straighten 
matters  out.  But  the  efforts  of  the  consul  were  of  no 
avail.  The  king-pin  of  the  harbor  office  refused  to  be 
interviewed,  and  the  Captain  of  the  yacht  returned 
aboard  with  fire  in  his  eye.  After  a  council  of  war 


YESTEEDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  197 

had  been  held,  it  was  decided  to  sail,  papers  or  no 
papers,  and  the  two  soldiers  who  were  pacing  up  and 
down  the  deck  were  told  the  vessel  was  going  to  sea. 

"  But  we  won't  let  you  go  without  your  papers," 
said  they. 

"  Papers  or  no  papers,  we  are  going  to  sea  to-night," 
roared  the  Captain.  "  And  if  you  fellows  don't  git 
aboard  into  that  boat  mighty  quick,  we'll  be  feeding 
you  to  the  sharks." 

The  Gatling  guns  and  show  of  rifles  in  the  com- 
panion-way looked  eloquent,  and  the  two  carabineros, 
murmuring  that  they  would  surely  be  killed  for  neg- 
lect of  duty  when  they  got  ashore,  were  pushed 
down  the  gangway  into  a  row-boat  as  the  Elea- 
nor got  her  anchor  up,  and  steamed  out  of  the  Bay 
in  the  face  of  Providence  and  the  southwest  wind, 
almost  across  the  bows  of  the  Spanish  flagship 
Reina  Cristina.  A  tremendous  diplomatic  hullabaloo 
resulted.  The  consul  was  summoned,  the  guards 
were  blown  up  by  the  discharge  of  verbal  powder,  and 
it  almost  looked  as  if  our  representative  would  have 
to  send  for  war-ships.  But  the  matter  has  finally 
been  straightened  out,  and  the  passengers  on  the 
Eleanor  have  probably  had  their  Easter  Sunday  at 
Hong  Kong. 

Curiously  enough,  for  April,  another  typhoon  has 
recently  sailed  through  the  gap  in  the  mountains  to 


198  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

the  north  of  our  capital,  and  gone  swirling  over  to 
China,  leaving  in  its  wake  a  sunken  steamer,  which 
foundered  with  her  living  freight  of  close  to  three 
hundred  souls.  Out  in  front  of  the  big  steamship 
office  across  the  way  hundreds  of  natives  are  inquir- 
ing for  their  brothers  or  husbands  or  children.  It 
seems  the  Gravina,  a  ship  of  the  best  part  of  a 
thousand  tons,  was  coming  down  from  the  north, 
heavily  loaded  with  rice,  tobacco,  and  native  boys, 
who,  for  not  paying  their  tax  bills,  had  been  drafted 
into  service  for  the  purpose  of  being  sent  against  the 
savages  in  Mindanao.  She  had  only  fifty  more  miles 
to  go  before  reaching  the  entrance  to  Manila  Bay, 
when  the  barometer  fell,  the  wind  hauled  to  the 
northwest,  and  the  typhoon  struck  her.  Her  after- 
hatchway  was  washed  overboard,  and,  deep  in  the 
water  as  she  was,  the  seas  washed  over  into  the  open- 
ing. As  fast  as  fresh  coverings  were  substituted  they 
were  ripped  off  and  carried  away.  The  engines 
became  disabled,  the  water  rushed  into  the  boiler- 
room,  putting  out  the  fires,  and  the  passengers,  who 
were  locked  into  the  cabins,  were  panic-stricken. 
The  steamer  began  to  settle,  and  under  the  onslaught 
of  a  big  sea,  accompanied  with  terrific  wind,  suddenly 
heeled  over  and  foundered  with  all  on  board,  save 
three,  the  Captain  standing  on  the  bridge  as  she  went 
down,  crying  "Viva  EspaHa."  Two  natives  and  a 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  199 

Spanish,  woman  got  clear  of  the  ship  before  she 
sucked  them  under,  and  floated  about  on  an  awning- 
pole  and  a  deck-table.  Scarcely  had  the  survivors 
got  clear  of  one  danger  before  a  shark  swooped  down 
on  the  Spanish  woman,  and,  attracted  by  her  lighter 
color,  bit  off  a  limb.  He  paid  no  attention  to  the 
two  natives  kicking  out  their  feet  near  by,  and, 
though  neither  of  them  could  swim  a  stroke,  they 
managed  to  paddle  ashore  on  their  supports,  after 
being  in  the  water  two  nights  and  a  day. 

These  two  men,  the  only  survivors  of  the  large 
passenger-list  of  the  Gravina,  came  into  our  office 
yesterday,  and,  after  giving  a  graphic  description  of 
the  catastrophe,  easily  got  us  to  loosen  our  purse- 
strings.  The  accident  is  the  worst  that  has  occurred 
for  many  a  day,  and  there  is  a  gloom  over  the  whole 
city.  The  newspapers  came  out  with  black  borders, 
and  many  families  are  bereaved. 

May  20th. 

The  more  I  see  of  these  native  servants,  the  more 
I  appreciate  that  they  are  great  fabricators  and  ex- 
cuse-makers. Your  boy,  for  example,  every  now  and 
then  wants  an  advance  of  five  or  ten  dollars  on  his 
salary.  His  father  has  just  died,  he  tells  you,  and  he 
needs  the  money  to  pay  for  the  saying  of  a  mass  for 
the  repose  of  his  soul.  Then  comes  another  boy,  who 
says  that  by  his  sister's  marrying  somebody  or  other 


200  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

his  aunt  has  become  his  grandmother,  and  he  wants 
cinco  pesos,  to  buy  her  a  present  of  a  fighting-cock 
or  something  else.  This  matter  of  relationship  here 
in  the  Philippines  is  a  most  delicate  one  to  keep 
control  of,  and  in  the  matter  of  deaths,  births,  and 
marriages  among  your  servants'  relations  it  is  very 
essential  that  you  keep  an  accurate  list  of  the  family 
tree,  so  that  you  may  check  up  any  tendency  on 
their  part  to  kill  off  their  fathers  and  mothers  more 
than  twice  or  three  times  during  the  year  for  the 
purposes  of  self-aggrandizement.  As  an  example  of 
this,  my  own  boy  actually  had  the  cheek  to  ask  me  for 
the  loan  of  a  dozen  dollars  to  arrange  for  the  repose 
of  the  soul  of  one  of  his  relatives  I  had  once  before 
assisted  him  to  bury. 

I  seem  to  have  gone  a  long  way  in  my  chronicles 
without  speaking  much  of  the  native  "  ladies  "  in  Ma- 
nila, and  I  owe  them  an  apology.  But  one  of  them 
the  other  day  so  swished  her  long  pink  calico  train 
in  front  of  a  pony  that  was  cantering  up  to  the  club 
with  a  carromata  in  which  two  of  us  were  seated,  that 
we  were  dumped  out  into  a  muddy  rice-field  by  the 
wayside.  So  the  apology  should  be  mutual.  The 
costumes  worn  by  the  women  are  far  from  simple  and 
are  made  up  of  that  brilliant  skirt  with  long  train 
that  is  swished  around  and  tucked  into  the  belt  in 
front,  the  short  white  waist  that,  at  times  divorced 


YESTERDAYS   IN   THE  PHILIPPINES  201 

from  the  skirt  below,  has  huge  flaring  sleeves  of  pina 
fibre  which  show  the  arms,  and  the  costly  pina  hand- 
kerchief which,  folded  on  the  diagonal,  encircles  the 
neck.  They  wear  no  hats,  often  go  without  stockings, 
and  invariably  walk  as  if  they  were  carrying  a  pail  of 
water  on  their  heads.  They  generally  chew  betel- 
nuts,  which  color  the  mouth  an  ugly  red,  smoke 
cigars,  and  put  so  much  cocoanut-oil  on  their  straight, 
black  hair  that  it  is  not  pleasant  to  get  to  leeward  of 
them  in  an  open  tram-car.  Otherwise  they  are  gen- 
erally the  mothers  of  many  children  and  often  play 
well  on  the  harp. 

I  made  a  call  on  the  local  dentist  yesterday,  and 
found  him  sitting  on  a  wooden  figure  of  St.  Peter, 
carving  some  expression  into  the  face.  I  thought 
I  had  got  into  a  carpenter's  shop  instead  of  a  den- 
tal establishment,  and  apologized  for  the  intrusion. 
But  the  gentleman  said  he  was  the  dentist,  and 
dropped  his  mallet  and  chisel  to  usher  me  into  his 
other  operating-room.  It  is  quite  a  jump  from  carv- 
ing out  features  of  apostles  to  filling  teeth,  but  on 
being  assured  that  he  had  received  due  instruction 
from  an  American  dentist,  I  allowed  him  to  proceed 
to  business.  The  whole  operation  lasted  about  seven 
and  one-half  minutes,  and  by  the  time  I  had  got  out 
my  dollar  to  pay  him  for  the  filling  I  swallowed 
soon  after,  he  was  again  at  work  on  Biblical  subjects. 


202  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

All  in  all  it  doesn't  pay  to  neglect  one's  health  in 
the  Philippines,  for  the  only  English  doctor  that 
Manila  boasts  of  has  been  here  so  long  that  the  cli- 
mate has  shrivelled  up  his  memory.  After  he  has 
attended  your  serious  case  of  fever  or  influenza  for 
several  days,  he  will  suddenly  stroll  in  some  morning 
and  give  you  a  sinking  feeling  with  the  words  : 

"  Oh,  by  the  way,  what  is  the  matter  with  you  ?  " 

This  is  hardly  comforting  to  one  who  considers 
himself  a  gone  coon,  but  in  justice  to  our  friend  the 
medico,  I  must  say  he  never  displays  these  symptoms 
to  patients  whose  case  is  really  getting  desperate. 

Tons  and  tons  of  water  have  been  drunk  up  by 
the  clouds  of  late,  and  have  just  now  begun  to  be 
unceremoniously  dumped  down  upon  flat  Manila,  so 
that  she  has  seemed  likely  to  be  washed  into  the 
sea.  But  rain  has  been  badly  needed.  A  long  heat 
has  made  many  the  worse  for  wear,  and  the  doctors 
have  all  said  that  unless  the  rain  came  soon,  an  epi- 
demic would  probably  break  out. 

Before  the  showers  began,  we  improved  the  spare 
time  of  another  Sunday  and  bank-holiday  by  an 
aquatic  excursion  to  some  of  the  provincial  towns 
away  across  to  the  north  side  of  Manila  Bay.  Don 
Capitan,  the  purchaser  of  our  fire-engine  and  the  mil- 
lionaire ship-owner  who  runs  several  lines  of  steamers 
and  storehouses,  was  our  host,  and  invited  us  to  spend 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  203 

the  days  as  Ms  guests  aboard  the  trim  paddle-wheel 
steamer  that  makes  regular  trips  to  the  bay  ports. 
Early  on  Sunday  morning  we  started  from  the  quay 
in  front  of  the  big  hemp-press,  and  while  the  lower 
decks  of  the  steamer  were  crowded  with  native  mar- 
ket-women, fishermen,  and  Chinese,  the  more  sightly 
portions  of  the  upper  promenade  were  reserved  for 
us  and  provided  with  Vienna  chairs.  Breakfast  was 
served  in  a  large  chart-room  connected  with  the  wheel- 
house,  and  was  a  fitting  accompaniment  to  the  fresh 
sail  out  of  the  river  through  the  shipping. 

After  discharging  groups  of  passengers  and  freight 
into  large  tree-trunk  boats  at  several  little  villages,  we 
came  at  noon  to  Orani,  the  end  of  the  outward  run. 
The  sister-in-law  of  the  jet-black  captain  owned  the 
largest  house  in  the  village,  and  put  it  at  our  disposal. 
Our  advent  had  been  heralded  the  day  before,  and  a 
groaning  table  supported  a  sumptuous  repast. 

There  were  four  of  us  besides  the  half-caste  family 
of  the  captain's  sister-in-law,  and  an  old  withered-up 
Spaniard  who  used  to  be  governor  of  the  village. 
Various  cats  roamed  around  under  the  table,  and  on 
top  were  toothpicks  built  up  into  cones,  Spanish 
sausages,  olives,  flowers,  and  fruit  with  an  unpro- 
nounceable name,  that  looked  like  freshly  dug  pota- 
toes well  covered  with  soil. 

Beside  each  chair  was  a  red  clay  jar,  into  which 


204  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

each  participator  in  the  repast  could  from  time  to 
time  transfer  such  articles  as  were  apparently  unswal- 
lowable,  and  all  around  stood  thick-lipped  serving 
boys,  who  looked  as  if  they  were  only  waiting  to  pour 
soup  in  one's  lap,  or  garlic  gravy  down  one's  neck.  The 
feast  began  with  soup,  and  though  the  family  could 
not  well  eat  that  with  their  knives,  they  could  the  re- 
maining courses.  After  soup  came  the  pucliero,  that 
mixture  of  beans,  potatoes,  cabbage,  tough  meat, 
pork,  grass,  garlic,  and  grease,  and  I  steeled  myself 
for  the  fray.  Next  came  cooked  hen  with  a  limpid 
gravy  accompaniment,  and  as  the  chicken  had  been 
alive  up  to  within  a  few  moments  of  going  into  the 
kettle,  the  question  of  attack  was  difficult.  Then  fol- 
lowed in  succession  cow's  tongue  and  roast  goat,  fish, 
salad  with  sliced  tomatoes,  and  dessert  consisting  of 
those  fluffy  affairs  made  of  sugar  and  eggs  which 
taste  like  captivated  sea-foam.  As  is  always  custom- 
ary, cheese  and  fruit  were  served  together,  but  while 
a  servant  had  to  carry  the  fruit,  the  cheese  seemed 
inclined  to  walk  around  by  itself. 

In  due  season  all  the  debris  was  removed.  A  boy 
went  in  pursuit  of  the  cheese  and  the  table  was  cleared 
for  strong  coffee  that  looked  dangerous.  The  mortal- 
ity, however,  among  the  party  was  not  great,  and  all 
those  who  were  able  to  get  up  from  the  table  went  to 
take  a  siesta. 


YESTERDAYS  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES          205 

At  about  four,  we  were  awakened  by  the  familiar 
noise  coming  from  the  grinding  of  an  ice-cream  freez- 
er, and  afternoon  tea,  consisting  of  chocolate,  sand- 
wiches, cakes  and  frozen  pudding,  was  served  half  an 
hour  later.  At  five  we  were  to  take  a  drive  along  the 
shore  in  the  only  two  landaus  that  the  place  possessed, 
and  since  the  padre  who  lived  close  by  in  the  big 
church  had  been  good  enough  to  lend  us  one,  we 
called  on  him  in  state,  taking  with  us,  for  his  refresh- 
ment, a  small  caldron  of  ice-cream.  His  greeting 
was  right  cordial,  and  after  amusing  us  with  stories 
of  his  many  adventures,  told  in  fluent  English,  he 
dismissed  us  with  his  blessing. 

Two  of  our  party  got  into  his  carriage,  while  other 
two  went  in  that  belonging  to  the  governor  of  the 
town,  and  behind  smart-stepping  ponies  we  bowled 
off  up  the  road  that  led  west  along  the  Bay. 

Old  Malthus  would  have  been  interested  to  see  the 
number  of  children  that  exist  in  these  provincial 
villages,  and  it  really  seemed  as  if  at  least  one  hundred 
and  two  per  cent,  of  the  population  were  kids.  About 
eighteen  infants  could  be  seen  leaning  out  of  every 
window,  in  every  native  hut,  and  in  the  streets,  by- 
ways, and  hedges  they  were  thick  as  locusts.  Most 
of  these  children  trailed  little  else  than  clouds  of 
glory,  since  clothes  were  scarce  and  expensive.  An 
undershirt  was  all  that  any  of  them  seemed  to  wear, 


206  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

and  only  the  dudes  of  the  one  hundred  and  two  per 
cent,  wore  that. 

Much  to  our  amusement,  the  loiterers  by  the  way- 
side everywhere  saluted  us  with  a  "  Buenos  tardes, 
Padre"  and  it  appeared  that  since  the  holy  father  is 
the  only  one  who  drives  regularly  in  a  landau,  the 
whole  population  thought  of  course  we  must  be  he,  or 
some  of  his  saintly  brethren.  And  so  we  went  until 
the  gathering  darkness  compelled  a  return  to  the  start- 
ing-point. An  elaborate  supper,  consisting  of  hard- 
shelled  crabs  and  other  indigestibles,  was  followed 
by  an  impromptu  dance  and  musicale,  and  the  even- 
ing ended  in  a  burst  of  song. 

Next  morning  the  little  steamer  took  us  and  a  load 
of  fish  and  vegetables  back  to  the  capital. 

July  6th. 

Our  modern  journals,  I  know,  rejoice  to  go  into  all 
the  gruesome  details  of  crime  and  its  punishment,  and 
many  of  their  readers  take  as  much  morbid  pleasure 
in  poring  over  accounts  of  hangings,  pictures  of  the 
culprit,  diagrams  of  his  cell,  and  last  conversations 
with  the  jailer,  as  do  the  reporters  in  getting  the  in- 
formation with  which  to  make  up  long,  padded  articles 
paid  for  by  the  column.  I  am  not  morbidly  curious 
myself,  and  trust  you  will  not  think  I  went  to  see  the 
capital  punishment  of  two  murderers  for  any  other 
than  purely  scientific  reasons. 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  207 

The  two  men  who  were  executed  on  July  4th, 
just  passed,  were  convicted  of  chopping  a  Spaniard 
to  pieces  to  get  the  few  dollars  which  he  kept  in  his 
house,  and  to  avenge  themselves  for  harsh  treatment. 
They  were  nothing  more  than  native  boys,  one  twenty 
and  the  other  twenty-two,  employed  as  servants  in 
the  family  of  the  unfortunate  victim.  In  short,  they 
were  sentenced  to  death  by  the  garrote,  and  to  the 
end  of  carrying  out  the  decree  a  platform  was  erected 
in  the  open  parade-ground  behind  the  Luneta.  But 
the  people  in  the  neighborhood  objected.  The  women 
said  they  could  not  sleep  from  thinking  over  it,  and 
could  not  bear  to  have  their  children  see  the  scaffold. 
General  Blanco  was  petitioned,  and  the  place  of  ex- 
ecution was  changed  to  a  broad  avenue  that  leads 
down  through  the  back  part  of  Manila,  by  the  public 
slaughter-house.  Surely  the  selection  was  appro- 
priate. 

On  the  fatal  day,  my  colleague  and  I  drove  to  the 
scene  shortly  after  sunrise,  and  crowds  of  people  had 
already  begun  to  come  together  from  the  adjoining 
districts.  Carriages  of  all  classes  rolled  in  from  all 
directions.  Chinamen  with  cues,  natives  with  their 
wives,  women  with  their  infants,  young  girls  and 
children,  old  men  and  maidens,  were  all  there,  dressed 
in  their  best  clothes. 

I  knew  it  would  be  useless  to  stand  in  the  crowd, 


208  YESTEEDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

so  I  pushed  over  toward  a  nipa  hut,  whose  windows, 
which  were  filled  with  natives,  looked  fairly  out  on 
the  scaffold  itself.  In  the  name  of  my  camera  I  asked 
admittance,  which  was  cordially  accorded,  since  we 
were  "Ingleses,"  and  on  going  to  the  upper  floor 
we  had  a  free  view  over  the  crowd  below  toward  the 
fatal  platform,  with  its  two  posts  to  which  were  at- 
tached two  narrow  seats.  The  crowd  increased ;  they 
climbed  into  bamboo-trees,  which  bent  to  the  ground ; 
they  tried  to  surge  up  on  the  lower  framework  of  the 
house  in  which  we  were  standing,  and  only  desisted 
as  the  proprietress  slashed  the  encroachers  right  and 
left  with  a  bamboo-cane.  The  roofs  of  neighboring 
houses  were  black  with  people,  the  windows  swarmed, 
and  the  street  below  heaved.  Our  hostess  was  pleas- 
ant, though  fiery,  and  all  she  wanted  in  return  for 
our  admission  was  a  photograph  of  herself.  The 
favor  was  granted,  and  she  gave  us  two  chairs  to  sit 
in.  The  crowd  increased,  and  the  guards  had  hard 
work  keeping  back  the  struggling  mass.  Every  avail- 
able square  inch  of  space  was  filled,  and  a  sea  of 
heads  pulsated  before  us. 

At  last,  cries  of  " aqui  vienen"  (here  they  come) 
arose,  and  the  solemn  procession  came  into  view  after 
its  long  journey  from  the  central  jail,  over  a  mile 
away.  First  came  the  cavalry,  then  a  group  of 
priests,  among  whom  marched  a  man  wearing  an 


YESTERDAYS  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES          209 

apron,  carrying  the  sacred  banner  of  the  Church, 
embroidered  in  black  and  gold.  Next  marched  the 
prison  officials,  and  behind  them  came  two  small, 
open  tip-carts,  drawn  by  ponies,  in  which  travelled 
the  condemned  men,  each  supported  by  a  couple  of 
priests  who  held  crucifixes  before  their  eyes,  exhort- 
ing them  to  confess  and  believe. 

Following  the  carts,  which  were  surrounded  by  a 
square  of  soldiers,  walked  the  executioner  himself, 
a  condemned  criminal,  but  spared  from  being  exe- 
cuted by  his  choosing  to  accept  the  office  of  public 
executioner.  Last  of  all  came  a  small  company  of 
soldiers,  with  bayonetted  guns,  and  the  whole  pro- 
cession advanced  to  the  foot  of  the  steps  leading  to 
the  platform. 

The  garroting  instrument  seems  to  consist  of  a  col- 
lar of  brass,  whose  front-piece  opens  on  a  hinge,  and 
part  of  whose  rear  portion  is  susceptible  to  being 
suddenly  pushed  forward  by  the  impulse  of  a  big 
fourth-rate  screw  working  through  the  post,  some- 
thing after  the  system  of  a  letter-press.  The  criminal 
sentenced  to  death  is  seated  on  a  small  board  attached 
to  the  upright,  his  neck  is  placed  in  the  brass  collar, 
the  front-piece  is  snapped  to,  and  when  all  is  ready, 
the  executioner  merely  gives  the  handle  of  the  screw 
a  complete  turn.  The  small  moving  back-piece  in  the 
collar  is  by  this  means  suddenly  pushed  forward 


210  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE   PHILIPPINES 

against  the  top  of  the  spine  of  the  unfortunate,  and 
death  comes  instantaneously  from  the  snapping  of 
the  spinal  cord. 

The  executioners  in  Manila  have  always  been  them- 
selves criminals,  and  in  breaking  the  spinal  cords  of 
their  fellow-criminals,  they  certainly  pay  a  price  for 
keeping  their  own  vertebrae  intact.  Like  most  men 
in  their  profession,  however,  they  are  well  paid,  and 
this  operator  got  sixteen  dollars  besides  his  regular 
monthly  salary  of  twenty,  for  each  man  on  whom  he 
turned  the  screw. 

The  sight  of  the  unfortunate  prisoners  in  the  little 
carts,  supported  by  the  priests,  was  pitiable  in  the 
extreme,  and  their  faces  bore  marks  of  unforgetable 
anguish.  The  priests  ascended  the  platform,  and  the 
man  with  the  embroidered  banner  was  careful  to 
stand  far  away  at  the  side,  for,  according  to  the  re- 
ligious custom  of  the  epoch,  a  condemned  man  who 
merely  happens  to  touch  the  standard  of  the  Church 
on  his  way  to  the  scaffold  cannot  thereafter  be  ex- 
ecuted, but  suffers  only  life  imprisonment. 

The  executioner,  in  a  derby  hat,  black  coat,  white 
breeches,  and  no  shoes,  took  his  position  behind 
the  post  at  one  side  of  the  scaffold,  and  the  first  vic- 
tim was  carried  up  out  of  the  cart  and  seated  on  the 
narrow  bench.  He  was  too  weak  to  help  himself  or 
make  resistance ;  the  black  cloak  was  thrown  over  his 


The  Fourth  of  July,  '95.     Execution  by  the  Garrote. 

"  My  watch  stopped  and  the  cord-pull  to  my  camera  broke  just  as  the  screw  was  turned 
on  the  first  niiin  to  bu  executed."     See  page  212. 


YESTERDAYS  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  211 

shoulders,  a  rope  tied  around  his  waist,  the  hood 
drawn  down  over  his  face,  and  the  collar  sprung 
around  his  neck.  Then,  while  two  priests,  with  un- 
covered heads,  held  their  crucifixes  up  before  him, 
and  sprinkled  holy  water  over  the  hood  and  long, 
black  death-robes,  the  chief  prison  official  waved  his 
sword,  the  executioner  gave  the  big  screw-handle  a 
sudden  twist  till  his  arms  crossed,  and  without  a  mo- 
tion of  any  sort,  except  a  slight  forward  movement 
of  the  naked  feet,  the  first  of  the  condemned  men  had 
solved  the  great  problem. 

The  second  poor  wretch  all  the  while  cowered  in 
the  little  cart,  but  when  his  turn  came  he  ascended 
the  steps  with  more  fortitude.  After  he  had  put 
on  the  long  black  gown  and  hood,  he  seated  himself 
on  the  bench  at  the  second  post  and  the  same  process 
was  repeated.  But  the  screw-thread  seemed  to  be 
rusty,  and  one  of  the  native  officials  helped  the  exe- 
cutioner give  the  handle  an  additional  turn,  for  which 
he  was  promptly  fined  $20.  The  doctor  tarried  a 
few  moments  on  the  scaffold,  the  priests  read  several 
prayers  and  shook  holy  water  over  the  immovable 
black-robed  figures  wedded  to  the  posts,  and  then, 
after  one  of  the  acolytes  had  nearly  set  fire  to  the 
flowing  gown  of  the  head  padre  with  his  long  can- 
dle, everyone  descended. 

The  remnants  of  the  procession  returned  to  the 


212  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

prison,  the  troops  stationed  themselves  in  a  large 
hollow  square  around  the  scaffold,  and  two  dark, 
motionless  figures  locked  to  two  posts  were  left  in 
the  hot  sun  till  noon,  set  out  against  the  blue  back- 
ground of  sky  and  clouds. 

The  crowds  began  to  disperse,  the  young  girls 
chatted  and  joked  with  each  other,  the  curious  were 
satisfied,  and  the  bamboo-trees  were  left  to  lift  their 
heads  at  leisure. 

Thus  began  Manila's  Fourth  of  July,  and  curi- 
ously enough,  my  watch  stopped  and  the  cord-pull 
to  my  instantaneous  camera  broke  just  as  the  screw 
was  turned  on  the  first  man  to  be  executed. 


XI 

Lottery  Chances  and  Mischances— An  American  Cigarette-Making 
Machine  and  its  Fate — Closing  up  Business — How  the  Foreigner 
Feels  Toward  Life  in  Manila — Why  the  English  and  Germans 
Return— Restlessness  among  the  Natives— Their  Persecution — 
Departure  and  Farewell. 

August  25th. 

I  LOST  $80,000  yesterday.  Perhaps  I  have  spoken 
of  lottery  tickets,  but  have  failed  to  say  what  an 
important  institution  in  Manila  the  "Loteria  Na- 
cional "  really  is.  Drawings  come  each  month  over 
in  the  Lottery  Building  in  Old  Manila,  and  every- 
body is  invited  to  inspect  the  fairness  with  which 
the  prize-balls  drop  out  of  one  revolving  cylinder 
like  a  peanut-roaster  while  the  ticket-number  balls 
slide  out  of  the  other.  The  Government  runs  the  lot- 
tery to  provide  itself  with  revenue,  and  starts  off  by 
putting  twenty-five  per  cent,  of  the  value  of  the 
ticket-issue  into  its  own  coffers.  If  all  the  tickets 
are  not  sold,  the  Loteria  Nacional  keeps  the  bal- 
ance for  itself  and  promptly  pockets  whatever  prizes 
those  tickets  draw.  Lottery  tickets  are  everywhere, 
in  every  window,  and  urchins  of  all  sizes  and  gen- 
ders moon  about  the  streets  selling  little  twentieths 

213 


214:  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

to  such  as  haven't  the  ten  dollars  to  buy  a  whole 
one.  Guests  at  dinner  play  cards  for  lottery  tickets 
paid  for  by  the  losers,  Englishmen  bet  lottery  tickets 
that  the  Esmeralda  won't  bring  the  mail  from  home, 
and  natives  dream  of  lucky  numbers,  to  go  searching 
all  over  town  for  the  pieces  that  bear  the  figures  of 
their  visions. 

Four  months  ago  I  got  reckless  enough  to  plank 
$10  on  the  counter  of  the  little  shop,  which,  at  the 
corner  of  the  Escolta  and  the  Puente  de  Espana, 
is  said  to  dispense  the  largest  number  of  winning 
tickets,  and  became  the  owner  of  number  1700.  It 
sounded  too  even,  too  commonplace,  to  be  lucky, 
but  as  it  was  considered  unlucky  to  change  a  ticket 
once  handed  you,  I  trudged  off  and  locked  the  paper 
in  the  safe.  The  drawing  came,  and  1700  drew  $100. 
Fortune  seemed  bound  my  way,  so  I  made  arrange- 
ments (as  so  many  buyers  of  lucky  tickets  do)  to  keep 
1700  every  month.  My  name  was  put  in  the  paper 
as  holding  1700,  and  for  three  long  months  I  remem- 
bered to  send  my  servant  to  the  Government  office  ten 
days  before  the  drawing,  for  the  ticket  reserved  in  my 
name.  But  for  three  drawings  it  never  tempted  for- 
tune. Last  week  I  forgot  lottery  and  everything  else 
in  our  further  struggle  with  a  new  piece  of  American 
machinery  which  was  being  introduced  for  the  first 
time  to  Manila,  and  woke  up  to-day  to  find  it  the 


.      YESTERDAYS  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  215 

occasion  of  the  drawing.  My  ticket — uncalled  for — 
had  been  sold.  At  noon  I  walked  by  the  little 
tienda  whose  proprietor  had  first  given  me  the  fatal 
number,  to  see  him  perched  up  on  a  step-ladder, 
posting  up  the  big  prizes,  as  fast  as  they  came  to 
his  wife  by  telephone.  The  space  opposite  the  first 
prize  of  $80,000  was  empty.  His  wife  handed  him 
a  paper.  Into  the  grooves  he  slid  a  figure  1,  then 
a  7,  and  then  two  ciphers.  Ye  gods — my  ticket! 
The  capital  prize — not  mine  !  $80,000  lost  because  I 
forgot — and  to  think  that  the  whole  sum  would  have 
been  paid  in  hard,  jingling  coin,  for  which  I  should 
have  had  to  send  a  dray  or<»two  I  But  I  am  not  quite 
so  inconsolable  as  my  friends  the  two  Englishmen, 
who  kept  their  ticket  for  two  years,  and  at  last,  dis- 
couraged, sold  it,  Chrismas-eve,  to  a  native  clerk, 
only  to  wake  up  next  day  and  find  it  had  drawn 
$100,000.  They  have  never  been  the  same  since. 
Nor  have  I. 

And  the  machine  that  caused  all  the  trouble — an- 
other whim  of  our  rich  friend,  the  owner  of  the  fire- 
engine,  who  saw  from  the  catalogues  on  our  office 
table  that  American  cigarette-machines  could  turn 
out  125,000  pieces  a  day  against  some  60,000,  the 
capacity  of  the  French  mechanisms,  which  were  in  use 
in  all  the  great  factories  in  Manila.  He  wanted  one 
for  his  friend  that  ran  the  little  tobacco-mill  up  in 


216  YESTERDAYS  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

a  back  street,  for  whom  he  furnished  the  capital. 
If  it  worked,  he  was  in  the  market  for  two  dozen 
more,  and  vowed  to  knock  spots  out  of  the  big 
Compania  General  and  Fabrica  Insular. 

Out  came  our  machine  some  weeks  ago,  and  with 
it  two  skilled  machinists  to  make  it  work.  The  big 
companies  pricked  up  their  ears  and  appeared  clear- 
ly averse  to  seeing  an  American  article  introduced, 
which  should  outclass  the  French  machines  for  which 
they  had  contracted. 

One  morning  the  two  machinists  came  to  our  office 
and  handed  us  an  anonymous  note  which  had  been 
thrust  under  the  door  of  their  room  at  the  Hotel 
Oriente : 

"  Stop  your  work — it  will  be  better  for  you." 

It  was  perhaps  not  diplomatic,  but  we  told  them  the 
story  of  the  two  Protestant  missionaries  who  some 
years  before  came  to  Manila  and  attempted  to  preach 
their  doctrines  in  the  face  of  Catholic  disapproval. 
One  morning  they  found  a  piece  of  paper  beneath 
their  door  in  the  same  hotel,  reading  : 

"  You  are  warned  to  desist  your  preaching." 

Paying  no  attention  to  the  warning,  they  woke  up 
two  sunrises  later  on  to  find  another  note  beneath 
the  door: 

"  Stop  your  work  and  leave  the  city,  or  take  the 
consequences.'* 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  217 

Still  they  heeded  not ;  and  a  third  paper  under  the 
door,  some  days  later,  read : 

"  For  the  last  time  you  are  warned  to  leave.  Heed 
this  and  beware  of  neglect  to  do  so." 

But,  like  Christian  soldiers,  they  were  only  the 
more  zealous  in  their  work. 

In  two  days  more  they  were  found  dead  in  their 
rooms — poisoned. 

Our  friends,  the  engineers,  were  not  soothed  by  a 
relation  of  these  facts,  but  kept  on  with  their  work. 
In  three  days  they,  too,  got  a  second  warning  : 

"Leave  your  work  and  go  away  by  the  first 
steamer." 

Things  began  to  look  serious,  and  the  more  timid 
mechanic  of  the  two  could  hardly  be  restrained  from 
buying  a  ticket  to  Hong  Kong. 

When,  however,  in  two  more  days,  a  third  piece 
of  yellow  paper  was  slipped  into  their  rooms,  bear- 
ing the  pencilled  words,  "  For  the  last  time  you  are 
told  to  take  the  next  steamer,"  the  matter  assumed 
such  proportions  that  we  arranged  to  have  them  see 
the  Archbishop,  whose  knowledge  is  far-reaching 
and  whose  power  complete.  The  letters  were  sud- 
denly stopped  and  the  work  on  the  machine  carried 
to  a  successful  completion. 

Then  came  the  day  of  trial,  and  invitations  were 
extended  to  interested  persons  to  view  the  operation. 


218  YESTERDAYS   IN"  THE  PHILIPPINES 

The  machine  was  started,  and  the  cigarettes  began 
to  sizzle  out  at  the  rate  of  nearly  two  hundred  to  the 
minute.  But  scarcely  had  the  run  begun  before  there 
was  a  sudden  jar,  several  of  the  important  parts  gave 
way,  and  the  machine  was  a  wreck.  It  had  been  tam- 
pered with,  and  it  was  evident  that  the  instigators  of 
the  anonymous  letters  had  taken  this  more  effective 
means  of  stopping  competition. 

The  parts  could  not  be  made  in  Manila ;  America 
was  far  away,  and  our  two  machinists  have  just  gone 
home  in  disgust. 

Is  it  a  wonder  that  I  forgot  the  lottery  drawing  ? 

Somehow  there  are  currents  of  trouble  in  the  air, 
and  some  of  the  old  residents  say  they  wouldn't  be 
surprised  to  see  the  outbreak  of  a  revolution  among 
the  natives.  Peculiar  night-fires  have  been  seen  now 
for  some  time,  burning  high  up  on  the  mountain- 
sides and  suddenly  going  out.  There  seems  to  be 
some  anti-American  sentiment  among  the  powers 
that  be,  and  only  last  week  matters  came  to  a  crisis 
by  the  Government  putting  an  embargo  on  the  busi- 
ness of  one  of  the  largest  houses  here,  in  which  an 
American  is  a  partner.  Smuggled  silk  was  discov- 
ered coming  ashore  at  night,  supposedly  from  the 
Esmeralda,  and  as  that  steamer  was  consigned  to 
the  firm  in  question,  the  authorities  demanded  pay- 
ment of  a  fine  of  $30,000.  Our  friends  refused,  the 


YESTERDAYS  IN   THE  PHILIPPINES  219 

officials  closed  the  doors  of  their  counting-room,  our 
consul  cabled  to  Japan  for  war- ships  again,  the  Gov- 
ernor-General read  the  telegram,  hasty  summons  were 
given  to  the  parties  concerned,  heated  arguments  fol- 
lowed, and  the  matter  was  finally  smoothed  over  on 
the  surface. 

But  there  seems  to  be  a  distinct  feeling  against  us, 
and  we  have  been  instructed  from  home  to  prepare 
to  leave — making  arrangements  to  turn  our  business 
into  the  hands  of  an  English  firm,  who  will  act  as 
agents  after  our  departure. 

September  20th. 

The  cable  has  come,  and  we  hope  by  next  month 
to  leave  this  land  of  intrigue  and  iniquity.  It  has 
treated  me  well,  but  complications  are  daily  appear- 
ing in  the  business  world,  and  if  we  get  away  without 
suddenly  being  dragged  into  some  civil  dispute  it 
will  be  delightful. 

I  am  glad  to  have  been  here  these  two  years  nearly, 
but  it  is  time  to  thicken  up  one's  blood  again  in  cooler 
climes,  and  I  feel  these  fair  islands  are  no  place  for 
the  permanent  residence  of  an  American.  We  seem 
to  be  like  fish  out  of  water  here  in  the  Far  East,  and 
as  few  in  numbers.  The  Englishman  and  the  German 
are  everywhere,  and  why  shouldn't  they  be?  Their 
home-roosts  are  too  small  for  them  to  perch  upon,  and 
they  are  born  with  the  instinct  to  fly  from  their  nests 


220          YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

to  some  foreign  land.  But,  America  is  so  big  that  we 
ought  not  to  feel  called  upon  to  swelter  in  the 
tropics  amid  the  fevers  and  the  ferns,  and  I,  for  one, 
am  content  to  "  keep  off  the  grass "  of  these  distant 
foreign  colonies. 

The  Englishman  or  German  comes  out  here  on  a 
five-years'  contract,  and  generally  runs  up  a  debit  bal- 
ance the  first  year  that  keeps  him  busy  economizing 
the  other  four.  At  the  end  of  his  first  season,  he 
wishes  he  were  at  home.  At  the  end  of  the  second, 
he  has  exhausted  all  the  novelties  of  the  new  situa- 
tion. At  the  close  of  the  third,  he  has  settled  down 
to  humdrum  life.  At  the  end  of  the  fourth,  he  has 
become  completely  divorced  from  home  habits  and 
modern  ideals.  And  at  the  close  of  the  fifth,  he  goes 
home  a  true  Filipino,  though  thinking  all  the  while  he 
is  glad  to  get  away.  He  says  he  is  never  coming  back, 
but  wiser  heads  know  better.  He  has  heard  about 
America,  and  goes  home  via  the  States,  to  see  Niagara 
and  New  York.  But  his  first  laundry-bill  in  San 
Francisco  so  scatters  those  depreciated  silver  "  Mex- 
icans," which  have  lost  half  their  value  in  being  turned 
into  gold,  that  he  takes  the  fast  express  to  the  Atlan- 
tic coast,  and  leaves  our  shores  by  the  first  steamer. 
At  home,  his  friends  have  all  got  married  or  had 
appendicitis,  and  the  bustle  of  London,  the  raw  rain- 
storms of  the  cold  weather  and  the  conventionality  of 


YESTEEDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  221 

life  all  bring  up  memories  of  the  Philippines,  which 
now  seem  to  lie  off  there  in  the  China  Sea  surrounded 
by  a  halo.  And  so,  before  a  year  is  out,  he  renews 
his  contract,  and  at  the  end  of  a  twelvemonth  goes 
sailing  back  Manilaward  to  take  up  the  careless  life 
where  he  left  it,  and  grow  old  in  the  Escolta  or  the 
Luneta.  In  London  he  paid  his  penny  and  took  the 
'bus,  he  lived  in  a  dingy  room,  and  packed  his  own 
bag.  But  in  Manila,  with  no  more  outlay,  he  owns 
his  horse  and  carriage,  he  lives  in  a  spacious  bungalow 
with  many  rooms,  and  he  lets  his  servants  wait  on 
him  by  inches.  How  do  I  know  ?  Oh,  because  we've 
talked  it  all  over,  now  that  our  turn  for  departure 
comes  next. 

The  whisperings  of  a  restlessness  among  the  na- 
tives continue,  and  it  is  hard  to  see  why  indeed  they 
do  not  rise  up  against  their  persecutors,  the  tax-gath- 
erers and  the  guardia  civil.  Ten  per  cent,  of  their 
average  earnings  have  to  go  to  pay  their  poll-taxes, 
and  if  they  cannot  produce  the  receipted  bills  from 
their  very  pockets  on  any  avenue  or  street-corner,  to 
the  challenge  of  the  veterana,  they  are  hustled  off  to 
the  cuartel,  and  you  are  minus  your  dinner  or  your 
coachman.  Once  in  the  hands  of  the  law,  they  are 
then  drafted  into  the  native  regiments  for  operations 
against  those  old  enemies,  the  Moros,  in  the  fever- 
stricken  districts  of  Mindanao,  and  their  wives  or  fam- 


222  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

ilies  are  left  to  swallow  Spanish  reglamientos.  They 
have  not  forgotten  their  brothers,  who,  dragged  down 
from  the  north,  went  to  the  bottom  in  the  typhoon 
which  pushed  the  Gravina  down.  They  have  not  for- 
gotten the  execution  in  the  public  square.  They  re- 
member that  the  Spaniards  address  them  with  the 
servile  pronoun  " tu" not  "usted" and  some  day  they 
may  remember  not  to  forget.  They  are  not  quarrel- 
some, but  they  are  treacherous ;  they  are  not  fighters, 
but  when  they  run  amuck  they  kill  right  and  left. 
They  do  not  seem  to  have  many  wants  save  to  be  left 
alone,  to  be  able  to  shake  a  cocoanut  from  the  palm 
for  their  morning's  meal,  or  to  collect  the  shakings 
from  a  thousand  trees  and  ship  them  to  Manila ;  to 
collect  the  few  strands  of  fibre  to  sew  the  nipa  thatch 
to  the  frame  of  their  bamboo  roof,  or  to  gather  enough 
to  fill  a  schooner  for  the  capital ;  in  fact,  to  be  able  to 
work  or  not  to  work,  and  to  know  that  the  results  of 
their  labor  are  to  be  theirs,  not  somebody  else's. 

But  what  has  all  this  got  to  do  with  our  hegira  ? 
These  last  days  have  been  replete  with  the  labors 
attendant  on  breaking  camp  before  the  long  march. 
Clearings  out  of  furniture,  selling  one's  ponies  and 
carriages,  closing  up  of  books,  shipping  of  one's  cases 
and  curios  on  those  hemp-ships  that  are  to  start  on 
the  long  20,000-mile  voyage  to  Boston,  and  trying  to 
think  of  the  things  that  have  been  left  undone,  or 


YESTERDAYS  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES          223 

ought  to  be  done,  have  all  gone  to  make  the  season  a 
busy  one. 

Now  that  it  has  come  down  to  actually  leaving 
Manila,  I  begin  to  feel  the  home  sickness  that  comes 
from  tearing  one's  self  away  from  the  midst  of  friends 
and  a  congenial  life.  I  shall  miss  the  hearty  Eng- 
lishmen with  whom  I  rowed  or  played  tennis  or 
went  into  the  country.  I  shall  miss  the  servants  who 
got  so  little  for  making  life  the  easier.  I  shall  miss 
the  ponies,  the  dogs  with  the  black  tongues,  and  the 
cats  with  the  crooks  in  their  tails ;  the  big  fire-engine 
which  we  used  to  run,  and  which  has  now  been  var- 
nished over  to  save  trouble  in  cleaning  ;  the  Luneta, 
with  its  soft  breezes  and  good  music ;  the  walks  out  on 
to  the  long  breakwater  to  see  the  sunset,  and  the  hob- 
nobbing with  the  old  salts  from  the  ships  in  the  bay, 
who  called  our  office  the  little  American  oasis  in  the 
midst  of  a  great  desert  of  foreign  houses.  But  the 
clock  has  struck,  and  the  Esmeralda  ought  early  next 
month  to  start  us  on  the  forty-day  voyage  back  to 
God's  country. 

October  22d. 

Is  this  sleep,  or  not  sleep  ?  Is  it  reality  or  fancy? 
Am  I  laboring  under  a  hallucination,  a  weird  phan- 
tasmagoria, or  are  my  powers  of  appreciation,  my 
efferent  nerve-centres  and  their  connecting  links,  my 
sum  total  of  receptive  faculties,  doing  their  duty  ?  I 


224  YESTERDAYS   IN   THE  PHILIPPINES 

feel  hypnotized.  I  kick  myself  to  see  if  this  is  real, 
and  am  only  led  to  conclude  it  is  by  looking  into  my 
sewing-kit,  where  the  needles  are  rusty,  the  thread 
gone,  and  the  depleted  stock  of  suspender-buttons 
wrongly  shoved  into  the  partition  labelled  "  piping- 
cord."  I  never  did  know  what  piping-cord  was.  My 
socks  are  holy,  my  handkerchiefs  have  burst  in  tears, 
and  my  lingerie  in  general  looks  as  if  it  had  been 
used  for  a  Chinese  ensign  on  one  of  the  ships  that 
fought  in  the  naval  battle  of  the  Yalu.  For  two 
years  those  garments  have  held  together  under  the 
peculiar  processes  of  Philippine  laundering,  but 
now  that  barbarians  have  once  more  got  hold  of 
them  and  subjected  them  to  modern  treatment, 
they  recognize  the  enemy  and  go  to  pieces.  And 
so  the  condition  of  my  clothes  leads  me  to  believe 
I  am  awake,  although  everything  else  suggests  the 
dream. 

Actually  away  from  Manila,  actually  eating  food 
that  is  food  once  more,  actually  sleeping  on  springs 
and  mattresses,  putting  on  heavier  clothes,  talking 
the  English  language,  meeting  civilized  people,  and 
realizing  what  it  means  to  be  homeward  bound !  It 
seems  unreal  after  those  two  years  of  Manila  life  that 
was  so  different,  so  divorced  from  the  busy  life  of 
the  western  world ;  much  more  unreal  than  did  the 
new  Philippine  environment  appear  two  years  ago, 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE   PHILIPPINES  225 

after  jumping  into  it  fresh  from  God's  country,  as  the 
Captain  called  it. 

Here  we  are,  eight  days  out  from  Manila,  steaming 
up  through  that  far-famed  inland  sea  of  Japan,  on  the 
good  ship  Coptic,  bound  for  San  Francisco ;  and  for 
the  life  of  me  those  twenty-four  moons  just  passed 
all  seem  to  huddle  into  yesterday.  Surely  it  was  only 
the  day  before  that  the  China  was  taking  me  and 
my  trunks  the  other  way.  And  so  it  takes  but  eight 
short  days  of  new  experiences,  new  food,  new  air,  to 
efface  completely  the  effect  of  seven  hundred  yester- 
days in  the  Philippines.  Those  whole  seven  hundred 
seem  now  as  but  one,  and  when  I  think  of  all  the 
housekeeping,  the  bookkeeping,  the  hemp-pressing, 
and  the  cheerful  putting  up  with  all  sorts  of  things, 
they  all  seem  to  be  playing  leapfrog  with  each  other 
in  the  dream  of  a  night,  and  I  wake  up  to  find  the 
pines  of  Japan  lending  a  certain  cordial  to  the  air 
that  is  very  grateful.  We  never  knew  what  we  were 
missing  in  Manila  in  the  slight  matter  of  eating 
alone  until  we  got  over  to  Hong  Kong  again,  and  it  is 
perhaps  just  as  well  we  didn't.  To  think  of  the  "  dead 
hen,"  as  they  call  it,  and  rice,  the  daily  couple  of  eggs, 
the  fried  potatoes,  and  the  banana-fritters  on  which 
we  have  tried  to  fatten  our  frames,  and  then  look  at 
the  bill  of  fare  on  the  Coptic !  We  exiles  from  Manila 
have  gained  over  five  pounds  in  these  eight  days, 


226  YESTEKDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

and  would  almost  go  through  another  two  years  in 
the  haunts  of  heathendom  for  the  sake  of  again  liv- 
ing through  a  sundry  few  days  like  the  past  eight,  in 
which  the  inner  man  wakes  up  to  see  his  opportuni- 
ties, and  makes  up  for  lost  time  on  soups  that  are  not 
all  rice  and  water,  on  fish  that  is  not  fishy,  on  chickens 
that  are  not  boiled  almost  alive,  on  roasts  that  taste 
not  of  garlic,  on  vegetables  that  are  something  more 
than  potatoes,  on  butter  that  is  not  axle-grease,  and 
on  puddings  and  pies  that  are  not  made  of  chopped 
blotting  paper  and  flavored  with  pomatum  sauces. 

An  exuberance  of  spirit  must  be  forgiven,  for  so 
welcome  is  the  change  from  the  old  cultivated  Manila 
contentment  that  the  present  burst  of  native  enthusi- 
asm is  but  natural.  Not  that  I  am  playing  false  to 
the  Malay  capital — for  let  it  be  said  that  when  once 
you  have  forgotten  the  good  things  at  home  the  ar- 
ticles which  that  Pearl  of  the  Orient  had  to  furnish 
went  well  enough  indeed — but  that  after  schooling 
one's  taste  to  things  of  low  degree  it  is  peculiarly 
melodramatic  to  return  to  things  of  high  estate. 

Our  send-off  from  Manila  on  the  14th  was  as  gay 
as  the  sad  occasion  could  warrant,  and  several  launch- 
loads  of  the  "  bosses  and  the  boys "  worried  out  to 
bid  us  a  last  adios.  The  Esmeralda  was  to  have 
the  honor  of  taking  us  away  from  the  place  to 
which  she  had  brought  us,  and  I  was  thoroughly 


o 


r 


YESTEEDAYS  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES          227 

prepared  to  go  through  the  interesting  process  that 
was  needed  finally  to  straighten  me  out  after  the  pe- 
culiar twisting  which  the  voyage  from  Manila  to 
Hong  Kong  had  given  me  two  years  before. 

The  sunset  over  the  mountains  at  the  mouth  of  the 
bay  was  eminently  fitting  in  its  concluding  ceremo- 
nies, and  it  seemed  to  do  its  best  for  us  on  this  last 
evening  in  the  Philippines.  The  many  ships  in  the 
fleet  lay  quietly  swinging  at  their  anchors.  The 
breeze  from  the  early  northeast  monsoon  blew  gently 
off  the  shore,  and  Manila  never  looked  fairer  than  she 
did  on  that  evening,  with  her  white  churches  and 
towers  backed  up  against  the  tall  blue  velvet  moun- 
tains, and  her  whole  long  low-lying  length  lifted,  as 
it  were,  into  mid-air  by  the  smooth  sea-mirror  be- 
tween us  and  the  shore. 

Captain  Tayler  was  as  jovial  and  entertaining  as 
ever,  and  the  colony  had  no  reason  to  regret  being 
participators  in  the  farewell.  We  well  realized  that 
our  departure  was  an  epoch  in  the  life  of  the  little 
Anglo-Saxon  colony,  and  in  a  city  where  important 
events  are  registered  as  occurring  "  just  after  Smith 
arrived "  or  "  just  before  Jones  went  away,"  it  was 
essential  to  give  the  occasion  weight  enough  to  carry 
it  down  into  the  weeks  succeeding  our  departure. 

Our  native  servants  came  off  with  the  bags  and 
baggage  and  seemed  to  show  as  much  feeling  as  they 


228  YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

had  ever  exhibited  in  the  receipt  of  a  Christmas 
present  or  a  box  on  the  ear.  And  some  of  our  old 
Chinese  friends,  from  whom  we  bought  bales  and 
bales  of  hemp  in  the  days  gone  by,  came  too,  bring- 
ing with  them  presents  of  silk  and  tea.  Everybody 
looked  sad  and  thirsty,  and  made  frequent  pilgrim- 
ages to  the  saloon  in  quest  of  the  usual  good-by 
stimulant. 

The  Esmeralda  panted  to  get  away,  and  we  had 
our  last  words  with  the  motley  little  assemblage. 
We  were  seeing  Manila  and  the  most  of  them  for  the 
last  time,  and  I  confess  both  they  and  the  shore 
often  looked  gurgled  up  in  the  blur  that  somehow 
formed  in  our  eyes. 

The  sun  sank  below  the  horizon ;  the  swift  dark- 
ness that  in  the  tropics  hurries  after  it,  brought  the 
electric  lights'  twinkling  gleam  out  on  the  Luneta 
and  the  long  Malecon  road  running  along  in  front  of 
the  old  city,  from  the  promenade  to  the  river.  The 
revolving  light  on  the  breakwater  cast  a  red  streak 
over  the  river.  The  white  eye  on  Corregidor,  far 
away,  blinked  as  the  night  began,  and,  just  as  the 
warning  of  "  all  ashore "  was  sounded,  the  faint 
strains  of  the  artillery  band  playing  on  the  Luneta 
floated  out  on  the  breeze  over  the  sleepy  waters  of 
the  Bay. 

Our  friends  clambered  aboard  the  launch,  the  cus- 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  229 

toms  officers  took  a  last  taste  of  the  refreshment  that 
Captain  Tayler  gives  them  to  make  them  genial,  the 
anchor  was  hoisted,  and,  with  cheers  from  the  tug 
and  the  screeching  of  launch-whistles,  the  Esmeralda 
put  to  sea,  bearing  with  her,  in  us  two,  half  the 
American  colony  in  Manila  and  the  only  American 
firm  in  the  Philippines. 


CONCLUSION 

IF  one  has  thoughts  of  going  out  to  the  Philippines 
he  should  learn  how  to  speak  Spanish,  and  how  to 
accept,  "  cum  grano  salis,"  descriptions  of  the  coun- 
try, either  too  glowing  or  too  gloomy.  Some  have 
gone  to  Manila  and  liked  it,  others  have  made  their 
retreat  homeward  echo  with  tales  of  weary  woe  about 
this  Malay  capital.  To  each  it  seems  to  mean  some- 
thing different  according  as  he  kept  his  health  or  lost 
it,  as  he  fell  in  with  the  life  or  didn't,  and  as  he  was 
successful  or  unsuccessful  in  that  for  which  he  left  the 
upper  side  of  the  globe.  Before  buying  one's  ticket 
for  the  Far  East  one  must  not  be  moved  by  the  sugges- 
tions of  "  thoughtful  "  persons,  who  say  you  are  going 
to  the  ends  of  the  earth  and  must  therefore  take  all 
sorts  of  clothes,  pianos,  and  means  of  subsistence. 
Accept  their  sympathy  but  not  always  their  advice, 
and  if  Manila  be  your  destination,  be  assured  you  are 
not  bound  for  an  altogether  isolated  village.  They 
may  do  some  things  out  there  which  are  not  down 
on  the  programme  of  a  day's  routine  in  the  United 

States.    The  fire-engines  may  be  drawn  by  oxen,  the 

230 


YESTERDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  231 

natives — contrary  to  Biblical  suggestion — may  build 
the  roof  to  their  shanties  first  and  make  arrangements 
for  underpinning  afterward ;  women  may  smoke 
cigars,  and  snakes  may  be  more  effective  rat-catchers 
than  cats  or  terriers.  But  there  are  shops  in  Manila, 
tailors,  drug-stores,  parks,  tramways,  churches,  elec- 
tric lights,  schools,  and  theatres  which  are  not  alto- 
gether unlike  those  in  the  Western  world. 

And,  in  times  of  peace,  the  capital  is  not  an  alto- 
gether bad  sort  of  a  place  to  live  in,  though  I  can't 
say  as  much  for  some  of  the  lesser  towns.  One  may 
be  susceptible  to  fever,  in  which  case  he  must  avoid 
sleeping  near  the  ground  or  going  about  much  in  the 
sun.  He  may  suffer  from  prickly  heat,  in  which 
case  he  will  not  want  to  take  oatmeal,  drink  choco- 
late, eat  mangoes,  or  smoke  pipes.  Or  he  may  be- 
come a  mark  for  sprue — that  peculiarly  oriental 
disease  which  seems  to  destroy  the  lining  to  one's 
interior — in  which  case  the  quicker  he  takes  the 
steamer  for  Japan  or  for  'Frisco  the  better.  He 
may  run  against  small-pox,  but  ought  not  to  take  it. 
He  will  have  a  cold  or  two,  but  won't  hear  of  cholera 
or  find  a  native  word  for  yellow  fever.  Should  the 
wind  strike  in  from  the  northwest  during  the  wet  sea- 
son, he  must  look  out  for  typhoons,  and  not  be  sur- 
prised if,  like  my  friend  the  Englishman,  he  some 
day  finds  only  his  upright  piano  on  the  spot  where  his 


232  YESTEKDAYS   IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

light-built  house  stood — the  rest  of  his  things  having 
hastened  to  the  next  village.  If  he  feels  the  ground 
getting  restless  he  must  look  out  for  the  oil  lamps  on 
the  table,  or  the  tiles  on  the  roof.  He  must  not  take 
too  cold  baths,  sleep  in  silk  pajamas,  or  walk  when  he 
has  the  "  peseta  "  to  ride.  And  in  all  things  he  will 
be  better  off  by  remembering  to  apply  that  motto  of 
the  ancient  Greeks,  jjw)8ev  wyav — in  nothing  to  excess. 
Manila  is  the  new  Mecca,  and  for  some  time  to  come 
she  is  going  to  be  looked  at  on  the  map,  talked  about 
at  the  dinner-table  and  by  the  fireside,  and  written 
up  from  all  quarters.  At  present  this  Pearl  of  the 
Orient  is  but  a  jewel  in  the  rough,  but  with  good 
men  to  make  her  laws,  and  her  gates  wide  open  to 
the  pilgrims  of  the  world,  she  soon  should  shine  as 
brilliantly  as  any  city  in  the  Far  East. 


?  -^n-^Si    t       M^  ?  S-i*  *  32  I 

' -      r- 


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